Renovation & Design – Winnipeg Free Press

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Beware this summer of contractors offering cash-only deals with a handshake ‘contract’ when considering home-renovation quotes.

Get it in writing from contractors this summer

Lanny McInnes 5 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Now that winter weather appears to be behind us, Manitobans are turning their attention to preparing for spring yard work, gardening and planning on how best to enjoy the long and beautiful summer we all deserve.

Sometimes, that also means planning a summer renovation project for your home. Many homeowners are booking these summer projects with renovators now. But one thing to keep in mind when researching both your residential project and picking the right renovator to do it, is that when a deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

There are some key points to remember when you are offered a “really great deal” on home renovations, especially cash-only deals where the person doing the work is being paid “under the table.” These deals usually mean no taxes are paid and no permits are taken out for the work to be done. Possessing no receipt and no contract also means there is no record of the work being done on a dwelling.

If your contractor cuts a few corners and uses substandard materials, you have no recourse because there was no formal agreement. If the workmanship is shoddy or the renovation work caused some damage to your home, there is no actual record of the work ever taking place.

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Elevate a home’s lower-level flooring

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

Elevate a home’s lower-level flooring

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Basements in newer house construction often follow a similar process to that found on any other floor of a home — joists with plywood or OSB sheathing atop as a subfloor.

This configuration is possible when a new house is being built with a crawlspace below the lower-level floor structure. Not only does this help in keeping the basement warmer, it also allows easier access to run rough plumbing and electrical below the basement floor elevation.

However, in older homes, the basement floor is generally concrete, which can be quite limiting. As one can imagine, changes to the existing rough plumbing of a basement level in an older dwelling with a concrete floor will be very costly. As such, basement bathroom renovations in such dwellings often utilize the existing placement of the toilet flange, sink and shower drains to avoid increasing costs.

At a current basement renovation project, the homeowners elected to recycle the existing bathroom layout for that very reason. However, costs were then incurred by adding a sump pit and pump and also a backwater valve as preventative measures against the possibility of a storm sewer surge that could inundate the basement.

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2:01 AM CDT

MARC LABOSSIERE / FREE PRESS
The subfloor panels are easily installed in the big open area of the home’s main rec-room space.

All you need to know to grow species of our iconic national tree

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

All you need to know to grow species of our iconic national tree

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Maples are one of the most common tree requests at garden centres every spring.

Many customers know exactly what they want and specifically ask for Autumn Blaze. (The full botanical name for the Autumn Blaze Maple is Acer x freemanii Jeffersred.)

A hybrid between red maple (Acer rubrum) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum), Autumn Blaze was discovered by Ohio nurseryman Glenn Jeffers in the late-1960s. Autumn Blaze combines the fast growth and drought-tolerance of the silver maple with the vibrant scarlet-red colour of the red maple. The iconic foliage is deeply cut with five pointed lobes.

The exceptional name recognition of the Autumn Blaze Maple often makes it the default choice for homeowners seeking brilliant-red fall colouring. But there are several other maple cultivars with outstanding red fall colour worth considering. There are also important things to know about maple trees.

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2:01 AM CDT

Jeffries Nurseries photo
The sugar maple is Canada’s national tree. Inferno sugar maple has inflorescent orange-red fall foliage colouring.

Mastering the drywall ‘frame’ game

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

Mastering the drywall ‘frame’ game

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Apr. 18, 2026

When the term “framing” is used in the context of interior construction, the first connotation is that of structural support and layout.

However, framing for just about any project can lead to frustration if the process is not well-planned from the get-go. While minor shifts and changes are often necessary to facilitate implementation of subsequent tasks, insufficient planning that overlooks all the requirements of a project can result in the need for drastic measures later on.

Interior framing can be quite monotonous, despite its necessity. In addition to helping sidestep small glitches, incorporating a strategic approach serves a very important purpose. As an example, framing the back wall of a basement bathroom to accommodate a vanity may seem straightforward enough — studs positioned atop a base at 16-inches on centre with a cap plate, then secured to the adjacent walls and ceiling joists above.

However, by first verifying the intended location of the ABS rough plumbing, the studs can be shifted slightly to better accommodate the process, rather than having to chop through a newly erected stud that may be inconveniently located for the plumbing feed.

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Saturday, Apr. 18, 2026

MARC LABOSSIERE / FREE PRESS
The decorative stringers are offset to better cater to the floor plan of the rec-room, and laundry entrance.

Perennials in the zone

Colleen Zacharias 6 minute read Preview

Perennials in the zone

Colleen Zacharias 6 minute read Saturday, Apr. 18, 2026

The reputation of Manitoba’s cold climate precedes us into nearly every major North American plant-breeding company. You could almost say, if a plant survives winter in Winnipeg, it will survive anywhere.

Dummen Orange is a leading global breeder and propagator of ornamental flowers and plants. It has been in operation in North America for 26 years. The company’s True North Perennials program differentiates Dummen Orange from other breeders on our continent, many of whom test their plants in places where winter temperatures do not exceed -34.4 C — in other words, Zone 4.

Hence, many new plant introductions are classified as hardy to Zone 4 because they have not been tested in our Zone 3B climate. Vanstone Nurseries in Portage la Prairie is a key regional testing ground for the True North Perennials program, which is focused on our zone.

“This has become a very big deal,” says Duayne Friesen, Winnipeg-based sales representative for Ball Seed Company, a major North American supplier of seed and young plants to commercial greenhouses. “There is significant demand, especially in Canada and the northern United States, for plant varieties that are guaranteed cold-hardy.”

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Saturday, Apr. 18, 2026

Gaillardia SpinTop Orange Halo Improved is an exceptional new perennial from the True North Perennials collection. It looks equally good in landscapes or containers.

Pragmatic plots

Colleen Zacharias 8 minute read Preview

Pragmatic plots

Colleen Zacharias 8 minute read Saturday, Apr. 11, 2026

Our climate is changing rapidly, and our garden plans need to adapt accordingly.

“We need a planting design that functions as a resilient, self-sustaining ecosystem suited to our climate,” says Nik Friesen-Hughes, landscape designer and owner of Dogwood Landscape Design Build. “We’re already seeing warmer temperatures overall in winter and summer and a longer growing season. In a climate such as Winnipeg’s, plants must handle extreme cold, heavy spring moisture and drought. So, we want to design a garden that’s resilient to all these things.”

Managing landscape water efficiently is a good starting point.

“Resilient landscapes don’t just use less water, they manage the water where it is,” says Friesen-Hughes. What if you could charge up your soil profile in spring with the extra moisture in the snow to help plants withstand hot, dry conditions that occur later on?

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Saturday, Apr. 11, 2026

Nik Friesen-Hughes photo
Looking for an echinacea you count on? Magnus coneflower keeps coming back if you plant it in lean soil.

Get emergency heat with one simple wiring change

Marc LaBossiere 7 minute read Preview

Get emergency heat with one simple wiring change

Marc LaBossiere 7 minute read Saturday, Apr. 11, 2026

From this past autumn into the dead of winter, our household dealt with an unfortunate bout of HVAC issues.

In the fall, the heat pump’s blower fan failed, resulting in sole reliance on the air handler (furnace) to heat the house. Moreover, the blower fan caused a surge on the heat pump’s circuit board. As such, both the blower fan’s motor and the control board needed to be replaced.

At some point during the coldest spell of winter, the air handler’s control board also suffered a catastrophic failure. Luckily, this issue was rectified within a week, and the house once again had heat. It wasn’t until recently that I received an ETA on the heat pump’s control board, even though the blower-fan motor had arrived several weeks prior. No matter, the heat pump “fix” was scheduled with my HVAC guy. However, there was a lingering programming issue that had always presented complications, dependent solely upon the outdoor temperature when the heat pump was not operational — the temperature lockout.

For those who aren’t familiar with electric heat pumps, the units are essentially air conditioners with a dual purpose — they provide heating in the cold months, and cooling during the warmer times of they year. Our Canadian climate, however, usually necessitates a “backup” heating system for times when the heat pump cannot efficiently or effectively heat the house properly. For instance, in Manitoba, my heat pump can effectively warm the house when the outside temperature remains above -15 C. Below this temperature, the heat pump struggles, even though the system will begin to call upon the heating coils in the air handler (the electric furnace). And even though this is the proper function, the heat pump’s efficiency begins to drop off greatly as the outdoor temperature dips below -15 C.

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Saturday, Apr. 11, 2026

Marc LaBossiere / Free Press
The three-tonne heat pump is installed in an area that avoids snow drifting in the winter.

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Regina watercolour artist brings nature-inspired designs to home décor

Colleen Zacharias 6 minute read Preview

Regina watercolour artist brings nature-inspired designs to home décor

Colleen Zacharias 6 minute read Saturday, Apr. 4, 2026

Inspired by her garden and the textures, patterns and colours found in nature, Michelle Austin’s designs bring the outdoors inside your home.

Austin is a Regina watercolour artist and surface pattern designer. She creates original hand-painted works of art for wallpaper, fabric and home textiles.

Her exclusive watercolour designs for wallpaper are available through West Coast Walls, based in British Columbia and Australia. Now, Austin’s garden-themed art has led to an exciting new partnership with a New York-based textile company which manufactures and distributes fabric across North America.

From walls to cushions, bedding, curtains, quilts, table decorations and other décor accents, Austin’s subdued colour palettes enhance home interiors with botanical elegance.

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Saturday, Apr. 4, 2026

Photos by Michelle Austin
Michelle Austin photo Escape to the English countryside with this beautiful wallpaper design from an original hand-painted watercolour by Michelle Austin.

A kitchen island unto itself

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

A kitchen island unto itself

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Apr. 4, 2026

While working at a job site for weeks at a time, it has been my experience that conversations with homeowners eventually lead to the prospect of other impending projects.

In this case, fortunately, this led to early preparations for a secondary revamp, hastening the installation process. While prepping a feature-wall fireplace location with the necessary electrical circuits, a new kitchen circuit was also introduced for an upcoming island upgrade. Once the cabinets arrived weeks later, the new circuit was ready to be implemented.

A kitchen island is nothing more than a layout of specified lower cabinets, with decorative panels to conceal the reverse sides of functioning cupboards. As such, the general depth of an island can range anywhere from 26 inches to considerably deeper, provided the kitchen offers the required space.

At a recent kitchen island upgrade, the space boasted more than enough usable area for a larger island. The existing island set-up seemed puny in comparison to the proposed design, which entails a longer island by the standard depth of cabinets with a countertop overhang of an additional 12 inches, rendering the rectangular top at 74-by-39 inches.

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Saturday, Apr. 4, 2026

MARC LABOSSIERE / FREE PRESS
A new bar fridge facing the dining room is incorporated into the island design.

‘Before’ and ‘after’ images highlight true transformation

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Preview

‘Before’ and ‘after’ images highlight true transformation

Marc LaBossiere 4 minute read Saturday, Mar. 28, 2026

On occasion, while rifling through my photo catalogue on my iPhone, I stumble across a forgotten “before” image taken at a job site. And when that photo underscores how spectacularly a transformative reno project has improved the homeowners’ abode, I can’t help but write a before-and-after column to showcase the upgrade.

Looking back on the project, it was a series of complementary decisions that led to the vast improvement.

During my first visit to the job site, it was clear the old wooden stairs that lead to the back door of the house had become dilapidated, and even unsafe in certain areas. As such, the homeowners wanted my impressions on how best to revitalize the rear access structure.

Thoughts had been entertained regarding the viability of transforming the back stairs into a covered porch area, primarily to ease the process of entering the house during the winter months.

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Saturday, Mar. 28, 2026

Marc LaBossiere / Winnipeg Free Press
Old dilapidated stairs to the home’s back-door entry (left) evolved into a four-season covered porch fit for entertaining guests (right).

Be smart with basement ceilings

Marc LaBossiere 6 minute read Preview

Be smart with basement ceilings

Marc LaBossiere 6 minute read Saturday, Mar. 21, 2026

Of all the lower-level and basement full-gut and remodels achieved throughout the years, only a handful have been finished with drywalled ceilings — and there’s a good reason for that.

In most homes, services mapped throughout the structure originate from the basement. And due to this, many of the joist cavities throughout the lower-level ceiling contain controls or supply lines for ventilation and water and often even electrical junction boxes, all stemming from a variety of scenarios and for specific reasons. Permanently covering these features is a big mistake.

At one job site in the Sage Creek area, the dwelling was considered a new build, only a few years old and the lower level had not been addressed at all. The bare-lumber staircase led to an entirely empty space with concrete walls along the perimeter.

Eventually, the interior wall configuration was designed, and the project began to take shape. Unlike most basements that showcase shorter wall heights, this new home’s lower level boasts nine-foot ceilings. And for the most part, the services were confined to the utility and furnace rooms, thereby allowing with ease the installation of drywall along the ceilings.

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Saturday, Mar. 21, 2026

Woody plants make bold, distinctive statements

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Woody plants make bold, distinctive statements

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Mar. 21, 2026

We’re on the cusp of a new season in the garden. As the snow begins to retreat over the coming weeks, gradually revealing your garden, it’s an opportunity to study the woody framework.

Will your garden be a blank slate until perennial plants start emerging from the ground? Or are there enough sculptural elements to make the spring garden look interesting even without perennials? Shrubs, with their distinct shapes — round, spiky, columnar, pyramidal, weeping, vase-shaped or ground-hugging — add structure, nuance and character to the garden.

If you’re shopping for shrubs this spring, there are endless options to choose from that will do the job beautifully. But there are also some unusual newcomers to look for this spring.

Quirky, but elegant

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Saturday, Mar. 21, 2026

Aubin Nurseries photo
Expect high demand for Always Together Rose, new for 2026. Sale royalties help support the Never Alone Cancer Foundation.

Take in rare species and incredible hybrids at annual orchids show and sale

Colleen Zacharias 6 minute read Preview

Take in rare species and incredible hybrids at annual orchids show and sale

Colleen Zacharias 6 minute read Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026

It will be a blooming paradise today and tomorrow as the Manitoba Orchid Society hosts its annual orchid show and sale at Breezy Bend Golf and Country Club in Headingley from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

With hundreds of orchids for sale, including rare species and hybrids from expert orchid growers from across the country, this event is the place to be for orchid lovers and anyone who wants to learn more about how to grow and care for unique plants.

“Our members have many methods for successfully nurturing orchids from around the world and adapting them to growing conditions in our Prairie homes,” says Denise Fortier, longtime member of the MOS and one of the event’s organizers. “We can provide reliable growing tips and tricks that work here in Manitoba. If you grow an African violet, you can grow an orchid.

“The educational talks held daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., are really popular,” says Fortier. The talks are free with show admission ($10).

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Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026

R. Kato photo
The annual orchid show and sale is always an exceptional opportunity for stunning photography.

Home renos can turn up fascinating artifacts

Marc LaBossiere 6 minute read Preview

Home renos can turn up fascinating artifacts

Marc LaBossiere 6 minute read Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026

The first few weeks of any major lower-level renovation and remodel will likely entail a whole lot of demolition, due to the reorganization room configurations as well as removal of old esthetic sheathing on walls and ceilings. As such, it is always intriguing to unveil what may have been concealed within wall cavities and between ceiling joists for many years, if not decades.

I began a large basement remodelling project last week. The entirety of the lower space boasts of a rec-room which will retain a laundry area that will be expanded to include more storage and house large aquariums that will be serviceable from within the laundry space while showcasing the various fish and turtles through openings into the rec-room.

An existing bathroom will decrease in size slightly to allow for more space in the adjacent office for an upright freezer, a fair-sized bedroom and an expanded utility room which is unfortunately located in the centre of the basement footprint.

As the old wall panelling was removed from the interior walls, the impending new wall layout quickly began to reveal itself, heralding improvements in both look and functionality.

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Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026

Marc LaBossiere / Free Press
With ceiling tiles fastened to joists, it was impossible to know the vent hose had come away from the vent housing.

Seedy Saturday

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Preview

Seedy Saturday

Colleen Zacharias 7 minute read Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

Seedy Saturday is set to sprout today at the Millennium Library.

Organized in partnership with the Spence Neighbourhood Association, the event runs from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the downtown library located at 251 Donald St.

“We have a really great mix of vendors for this year’s event,” says Stephen Kirk, environment and open spaces co-ordinator for the SNA.

“This year’s event is shaping up to be our largest one to date at Millennium Library,” says Laura Rawluk who has been involved in organizing Winnipeg Seedy Saturday events for more than 25 years.

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Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

Norfolk Healthy Produce photo
The genetically modified seeds of the Purple Tomato are the first GM seeds to be marketed to home gardeners in Canada.

Never too early to start planning a new backyard hub

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Preview

Never too early to start planning a new backyard hub

Marc LaBossiere 5 minute read Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

After submitting my weekly Reno Boss columns for roughly one year, I asked my editor out to lunch to voice a few concerns regarding my subject-matter choices.

Over the course of that first year, I noticed similarities from column to column, especially when elaborating the step-by-step process to build a deck. Other than the actual design layout, most decks follow the same procedure. And when I’ve listed those steps, it feels like I’ve told the same story repeatedly.

My editor smirked, and simply said Reno Boss readers may not get to every week’s column, and also said completion photos of varying completed decks showcase a variety of designs, no matter the similarities they may possess beyond esthetics.

Although these comments did somewhat alleviate my worries during our lunch, I still sometimes feel my concern from back then is somewhat relevant, even today, as though déjà vu is playing a cruel joke.

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Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026

April 25, 2026

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