Vancouver Real Estate Blog

All about Bathrooms - Vancouver, Whistler, across Canada and around the world

Everyone is talking about it. Why not just do it. But do it right. Here are a few extremely good ways of conserving water and making our homes,our cities, like Vancouver a healthier and safer place to live. It can start in the bathroom. From low flow fixtures, dual - flush toilets, solar water heaters and safety. This blog is all about your bathroom.

Water Conservation Low-Flow Fixtures Cut down on the amount of water used in your bathroom by switching to a low-flow, aerating shower head and faucets. These fixtures can reduce your home's water consumption by as much as 50 percent. Low-flow shower heads will use just 1.2 gallons of water per minute as opposed to the 2.5 gallon average, but the aerating feature makes the water flow seem just as strong. Dual-flush Toilets Dual-flush toilets allow users to select the amount of water flushed to correspond to the task at hand. There are two options; for solid waste there is a handle for a full 1.6 gallon flush, and for liquid you can choose a 0.8-1.1 gallon flush. You could save your family as much as 1,500 gallons a year with a dual-flush toilet - that's 60 percent to 80 percent less when compared with high volume toilets.

Safety First Twenty-five percent of all household accidents occur in the bathroom. Take precautions and select nonslip materials for floors, tubs, and showers, and use bath mats with nonskid backing. Make sure your electrical outlets are protected with GFCI circuit interrupters, which cut off power immediately in the case of a current surge. These should be installed by a qualified electrician. Choose shatterproof or tempered materials when possible, and avoid installing wall fixtures at eye level. Finally, lower the setting of your water heater to avoid scalding and energy waste.

Solar Water Heaters Water heating represents 15 percent of your home's overall energy consumption. Reduce your household's water heating costs with a solar water heater that utilizes the sun's natural resources to give water temperature a head start. Putting a solar heater on your roof can offset 15 kilowatts of energy per day from other sources and could save you $450 a year.

Top 4/10 Reasons why I love to live in Kitsilano - Watching Storms

Kitsilano has a rather interesting geographical position when it come to watching storms. At times one can stand on the beach or by the pool as these shots show and enjoy Mother Nature at her best.
These pictures were taken during the Fire Works show this summer in August 2009. These pictures are rare, as Vancouver does not see many thunder storms especially lightning.
Most of the lightning occurs up in the mountains. But when we do see it, it is fast and usually furious. These picture were taken standing along side of the Kitsilano Pool 1  hour before the Vancouver Fireworks show 2009.

Is There Asbestos in Your Home?

RMC Insight Building Consultants Inc. has prepared an interesting article on determining whether your home has asbestos - you can download the article here - Download asbestos_article.pdf.