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C6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesdsay April 18, 2001 Ererr.igra Renovating? It's the ideal time to improve energy efficiency If you're planning renovations or home improvements this year, now is the perfect time to evaluate just how efficiently your house uses energy. Energy efficiency upgrades are usually more cost-effective if they are done at the same time as renovations. In addition, they improve your hom e's comfort and safety, and can increase its resale value. If you're unsure of where your biggest heating losses are occurring, or if you simply don't know where to begin, take advantage of a program called EnerGuide for Houses, devel oped by the O ffice of Energy Efficiency (OEE) at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). When you call the 1-800 number below, operators will provide you with the number o f the EnerGuide for Houses service agent in your area. You can ask them to send an advisor to visit your home and make a walk through energy assessment of your house. After checking insulation levels, heating, hot water and ventilation sys tems, and performing an air leakage test, the advisor uses a computer sim ulation program to estim ate your hom e's present and potentially improved energy usage. You'll then receive a written report that shows where your energy losses are occur ring. The report will also have specif ic recommendations on where best to start with energy-saving renovations. The report gives you the "big pic ture" so you can plan renovations ahead of time and decide which improvements you want to make and when. The EnerGuide for Houses label rates your home's energy effi ciency and can be displayed on the electrical panel in your furnace room. Although there is a fee for the eval uation, energy efficiency can be seen as a short- and long-term investment: improving your home's energy use will mean a warmer and more com fortable home now and lower fuel bills in the future. For the name of an energy service company in your area, call 1-800-3872000. For more information about the EnerGuide for Houses Program and how it can help with your home reno vation plans, or visit the EnerGuide for Houses Web site at http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/energuide. - News Canada Now is the time for home inspection Spring goes hand-in-hand with spring thaw. It is therefore of the utmost importance to make sure that your house is fully protected against all risks of water seepage. Caulked joints It is advisable to check all the caulked joints around window and door frames by making sure that they have not come unstuck or that they have not cracked during the intense cold season. If they have, it is impor tant to take the necessary remedial action. To do so, just remove the damaged product and apply new caulking to the joint. It should be noted that the summer is the ideal time to do this job. Condition of roof shingles If the shingles have lifted from strong winds, they must be secured in place with tar. Pay special atten tion to the first two feet all around the edge of the roof. If the asphalt shin gles have curled and lifted, and if the ends are turning upward, it is a clear sign that they must be replaced. Inspection of wood surfaces If the paint on the wood surfaces is peeling off, it is advisable to scrape it in order to clean the surface well and make sure that there is no residue. Then apply a primer and end with a new coat of paint. If you must carry out such an operation, plan to do so before the sweltering summer heat arrives. And avoid applying paint on a very sunny day in order to ensure more long-lasting results. Eaves troughs Make sure that there is no residue of leaves in the eaves troughs so as not to obstruct the flow of water in the downspouts. You can also check that the eaves troughs are still secure ly attached to the house; at times, heavy ice or snow can loosen them in certain locations, and should. they become detached, their resistance and efficiency will be reduced as well. -News Canada If you're already involved in a home renovation, make sure you take the time ti improve its energy efficiency. Plan your window needs carefully (NC)-Buying windows is a major investment more often than not. It is therefore important to take the time you need to plan all the steps, from choosing to installing your new windows. To begin with, bear in mind that buy ing and installing windows must be planned in advance. Sometimes, the win dows require customized manufacturing, which involves a 4-6-week wait before delivery. Rule of thumb The extra money spent on obtaining a higher insulation rating for doors and windows will pay for itself, compared to the energy costs (heating and air cooling) that you will have to incur over the years. /N / $ CCAC H A L T O N Community Care Access Centre of Halton requests 20 per cent increase in budget from Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care The Community Care Access Centre of Halton (CCAC) requests a 20 per cent budget increase from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care which represents a $38.4 million budget for the 2001/2002 fiscal year. The increase is due to continual growth in the demand for services, the increasing cost of providing the services and the complexity of the type of services needed in Halton. The CCAC recently made changes to the request for proposal process based on feedback from the community, clients and service providers. The recent awarded contracts for rehabilitation services reflect this change where contracts are awarded for three-year terms. The CCAC anticipates securing these longer-term contracts with service providers will ensure employee stability resulting in consistent care for clients and improvements in the delivery of services. Halton CCAC CEO, Sandra Shadwick states, "We are managing home care and access to long-term care efficiently with over 92 per cent of our budget allocated to client related services. The challenges we face daily are the increasing demands on services, human resource shortages with our contracted service providers and limited long-term care beds. On any given day, we support approximately 6,500 clients. The people we serve are of all ages from infants to the elderly. Our clients have complicated service needs which require higher and more complex levels of care." The CCAC of Halton coordinates home care and personal support services for Halton residents, offers information and referral to community services, and provides information and placement into long-term care facilities. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care funds services accessed through the CCAC. For further information contact: Elaine Whitmore Director of Planning and Development Tel: 905-639-5228 Ext. 8920 Toll Free: 1-800-810-0000 Choice of glass ^ When you choose the glass, make sure that it is "thermal" and, more partic ularly, "low-e", which reflects the sun's rays in the summer and keeps the heat indoors in the winter. It is especially rec ommended that this type of glass be cho sen for windows that are highly exposed to the sun. Installation When the window is installed, it is preferable to install low-expansion polyurethane foam specifically designed for doors and windows in order to pre vent any distortions of the window frames. - News Canada H alton L inen O utlet Decorative Pillows Anirral PrintsTeddy Bear etc Thomas the Traini Bleeding Hearts hardy plants (Continued from page C7) 'XT A s s o rte d B ^ -^ ^ $(*099 $*AA00 (bet betw een T W n D o u b le .O e m -S a sse r > 180" . 'TV 2000 mm sHniiwi L Diam ond Winrurr^ OuvnxzBi O A K V IL L E 48 481 N o r t h Service R d .W . £ ( 905 ) D o rv a l D riv e and 4th Line) 847-2274 M O N . - FRI. 10 A.M. - 5:30 P.M. SATURDAY I0 A .M .-6 P.M. SUNDAY. I2A.M - S P.M. A W A R D S Voted Oakville's Best Linen Shop Design & Construction Antigua f St. Lucia I Jam aica 1 pools itterned concrete decks and driveways Bahamas · Inground swimming Call today! 416-410-2066 You're Invited To A Sandals Night V °°r ,, Wednesday, April 25th @ 7 p.m. Glen Abbey G olf Club 1)}) D orval Drive, Oakville Enjoy some refreshments and hors d 'oeuvres while pondering the vacation o f a lifetime. Find out why Sandals was voted the "World's Best Allinclusive" . Representatives from Sandals (and Air Canada l ocations will be present. www.poolsforhome.com pri*c ' R.S.V.P. by April 20th to Kelly @ 1-800 565 4378 x312 with reddish pink hearts over green ish blue leaves. It is rated one o f the top ten perennials by grow er `Lost Horizons'. Janet Anderson of JEA Perennials Inc. (519-245-4039) in the April `Landscape Trades' under the title `G rowers Six P a c k ' proposed Dicentras for their charm. Dicentra spectabilis, both red and white vari eties in flow er in May are tradition ally used for M others Day memori als and early spring colour. They both become dorm ant in June and are usually over planted with annu als. A new variety o f this species is `G old H eart' a recent selection from Haspen House in England. It has golden foliage so needs a shady loca tion as it will burn in the sun. It will add colour to a shady area. `Gold Heart; is also a year 2001 introduc tion of Gardenim port, 1 (800) 4498311, who suggest planting it beside a dark foliaged heuchera. The other half of the Growers Six Pack is three hybrids, `L uxuriant,' `M argery F ish ', and `K ing of H earts.' These bloom all through summer. `Luxuriant', the fern leaf bleeding heart w ith cherry red blooms is a landscape favorite which requires little m aintenance. `Margery Fish' is a good companion with ferm -like foliage and w hite flowers. Both will take more sun than others o f the species without burning. `King o f H earts' is a m ulti ple hybrid with lacy grey blue foliage, vigorous growth and massed dark red flowers. Said to be best for the near future. There is also an annual clim bing dicentra torulosa. It has golden yellow foliage with red flowers. The pods turn yellow in the fall. Seeds can be obtained from Thompson and Morgan, 1(800) 2747333. They also have seeds of d. spectabalis. For the native plants gardener there is d. cucullaria (D utchm an's breeches) which is list ed as a worthy native plant in the new Ontario Naturalized Garden by Lorrain Johnson. H um ber N urseries list many species and cultivars o f bleeding heart in their catalogue. They are a garden centre, their phone number is (416) 798-8733. Lost Horizons list `Luxuriant', `Aurora', and `Lantres'. They are a mail order house south on Hwy 7, two miles west of Acton. (519) 853-3085. Megril Turks & Caicos Varadero ®: Used under licence from Am erican Express Com pany. C opyright © : Am ex C anada Inc., 2000. Independently owned, and operated by 3862763 Canada Inc. SE W IN G M A C H IN E STO R E REPA IRS T O S IN G E R a n d a l l o th e r m a k es O '* Travel Services Bruce Hood Travel 2387 Trafalgar Rd. Oakville m o d els i c o i a R eg. #04616629 (905 ) 257-8747 S ' Look for more Great Specials in our Flyer in today's newspaper. W EXPERT P IN K IN G SH EA RS & SC IS SO R SH A R P E N IN G V 198 SPEERS RD. 842-2033 Inside O akville Vacuum