Ask Around

Joe the Plumber in Ottawa

Except his name is John and, noticing a shortage of presidential candidates in his neighbourhood, he tried to list himself at www.askaround.ca instead.  Three times. Under three different business names.  Luckily I spot these games quickly, but this guy is on every free online directory in Ottawa.  Buyer beware! 

When John has happy customers he should suggest they list him at www.askaround.ca.  Until then please ask around carefully before you hire a plumber, or a painter, home inspector, handyman or anything else.   It's great to give a chance to a new tradesman - we all have to start somewhere - but know what you are getting in to.  An honest, trustworthy, beginner will tell you they are starting out and offer whatever references s/he can find. 

When you do find a new 'hidden gem' tradesperson tell us all about it. Members who share recommendations use www.askaround.ca for free.

ps  This story has long legs.  Even Doonesbury needs to Ask Around more.  See his troubles here

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What's New?

An amazing crop of new businesses have been recommended at www.askaround.ca since the last newsletter. A horse riding camp  is the most unusual and Roofers win for busiest category.
There are also new Carpenters, Handymen, a Cat Hospital, Painters and Plumbers.

What are you looking for?  When you've found it don't forget to post a recommendation.

ps. More riding pictures here.

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"Are all the recommendations positive?"

This is a frequent question at www.askaround.ca.  The answer is  "Absolutely Not".  You will sometimes find " I will never use these people again. Don't hire them"  as a recommendation on the site. 

Negative recommendations are not common, Ask Around members like to pass on good news, but on those rare occasions when a tradesman or contractor is dishonest or misleading your fellow members want you to know.  I built Ask Around to share the good news about really excellent businesses and craftspeople,  but if you encounter misleading, dishonest or plain incompetent service please do tell us about it.

Your contact details are never visible on the site so you can confidently give an honest review. There are often positive things you can say about even the worst job, so look for these if you are feeling squirmy.  Punctuality, courtesy and tidiness won't fix a leaking roof, but they are still worth mentioning. 

Mixed reviews are useful too.  If your recommendation tells me that a contractor is great on price and timeliness but horribly untidy,  I can explain at the start of a job that a clean work site is important to me; Forewarned is forearmed.

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What did the Blonde say to the Window Installer?

Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with those expensive double-pane energy efficient kind.

Yesterday, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the windows had been installed a whole year ago and I hadn't paid for them yet.

Now just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid.

So I told him just exactly what his fast-talking sales guy had told ME last year: Namely that in just ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves!  'Hel-looooo!!' (I told him). 'It's been a year!'

There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up . . .  He hasn't called back.

Probably too embarrassed about forgetting the guarantee they made me.  Bet he won't underestimate MY intelligence again.

Giving it Away; In Praise of Freecycle

Bit of bragging here.  We finally got rid of all the junk in our garage; it's so tidy we may even get the car in this winter!  Just as well because it needs a new roof if we can ever find a roofer  . . . .  but back to the point.  This article is about the joys and practicalities of decluttering: Getting rid of the excess stuff that is sitting in your garage, basement, shed, or storage.

I'm not good at throwing stuff out.  It's hard to get rid of things that 'might be useful'. Then there's junk that is too big, or not allowed for regular garbage, and then the stuff that's just too good to throw away.

This is why I like Freecycle.  There are lots of freecycle groups in Ottawa, all doing their best to "Keep good stuff out of the landfill".  It's a great way to find new homes for the things you no longer need, and sometimes pick up really useful finds for yourself.  Join your local group on Yahoo to browse the 'treasures' other members are giving away, and post your own notices. 

The golden rule is "recipients collect"  If you want free stuff, you have to pick it up at a convenient time for the donor.   Last year I helped with a major house clearance and we freecycled lots of stuff. It was fun too. We heard some great stories and marveled at people's amazing plans for our old camping equipment/floor boards/plate glass/electrical fittings/magazines. 

Tips for Freecycling

• Scheduling is easier if you list items together and arrange for pick up around the same time
• Items posted with pictures, however basic, always attract more interest
• A nicely worded enquiry explaining why you want an item is more likely to get you the goods. (While emptying the garage we ignored "Yeah! I'll take it off your hands" responses)

Which group should you join? The Ottawa Full Circles group has 9350 members, Ottawa Freecycle has 3361, Ottawa Valley has 1881, Ottawa/Glebe has 2002 and Orleans has 1437. There are many more local groups; click here for a complete list. You are welcome to join more than one.  Worldwide protocols encourage you to post an item to your local group first (to minimise carbon emissions) and wait a while before posting the same item to a larger group.

Other 'get this stuff out of here' options:

Habitat for Humanity recycles building and renovation materials through their Restores.

The Diabetes Association will collect household items for resale or recycling. They will even help you recycle cars!

The Society of St Vincent De Paul runs stores across Ontario where you can donate clothing and household goods.  Likewise the Salvation Army.

Ottawa's 'Take It Back' programme does not work well for me; a long list of empty categories.  I feel the disposal cost of things like old televisions and computers should be built into the price of new purchases.  Future Shop wanted $35 to recycle our old TV. 

For stuff that is really too good to give away, many community newspapers offer free classifieds for local residents. Used Ottawa is a great website for free classifieds, as well as lots of other things.  Then there are traditional garage sales and community all-on-one-day versions.  I don't know which is better but you can list both kinds for free at Red Flag Deals.

When all else fails there is an excellent waste removal service listed at www.askaround.ca, or you could try to sell your junk as art! 

Freecycle, Full Circles and similar Networks in our region: Eric Snyder, who began freecycling in Ottawa, pointed me to this useful 'Hub' with links to all our local networks.  Find your local group here and check out the other fascinating links further down the page.

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Computers are power hungry beasts.

Eric Praetzel is a power usage expert. His home energy page is inspiring ( even my doorbell is dripping unused power) but he especially wants to get the word out about computer power usage.  Eric runs a lot of computer equipment at the University of Waterloo, so I'm really glad he's on top of these issues. Over to Eric:

Cases, and power supplies, made by Antec meet the "80PLUS" spec. These power supplies will have a sticker and are about 25% more efficient than regular power supplies. A typical computer that draws 100W and is on all the time uses about $100/year in electricity - by changing the power supply one can cut that by $25/year.

The computers I'm buying these days are around 52W in typical use; and that will be 40W when I start getting them in Antec cases.  I only buy AMD computers - their Athlon 64 processors only use 1/2 of the energy Intel Core Duo processors.  I will not touch Intel until they do something about their power consumption.

The most power efficient desktops these days are AMD with Cool'n'Quiet turned on. They draw around 40W of power.  Laptops use less power of course but LCDs are all over the map - some suck 5W when "off" while others are 1W. 
_____________________________________

Wendy here again: 
If, like me, you need help to use this advice, contact one of the computer experts listed at Ask Around.   Maybe you have your own IT guru? If so please share your recommendation here.  Click on 'Add a new Business' at the bottom of the list and tell us all about it.

Gas Guzzling Pilots

An earlier post on energy use brought a lot of feedback, including this from one very surprised member:

"We have just turned off the pilot lights on our two gas fireplaces. They burn between $12 to $15 of gas per month!"

Stunned,  I went in search of more information.  Eric Praetzel, an Electrical Engineer at the University of Waterloo, came to my aid.  His amazing home energy page is well - amazing, and he kindly helped correct my math for the original 'Electrical Leaks' post.  His take on pilot lights:

"Pilot lights burn around $8 to $12 a month in natural gas - yep - the thumb sized little flame you see in fire places or a furnace.  I measured my own. The REEP home inspector  said that they use a $10 to $12 per month. 
Newer appliances (eg gas water heaters)  meet a new efficiency rules and use less gas, but there is a certain minimum size to keep the thing from snuffing out. Electric ignition is a great way to save gas. 
I know people who are paranoid about pilot lights because they think that if they turn them off spiders will plug up the holes.  It's funny - but this doesn't seem to happen with furnaces.  Mind you the furnace is sealed  a lot better than a fire place."

This tells me it is worthwhile shutting off pilot lights whenever practical.  Leaving our furnace pilot alight May through October, when it is never used, is costing us $50, as well as dumping unnecessary carbon into the atmosphere.  Likewise the water heater when we are on holiday.  Pilot flames are easy to re-light using one of those long stemmed lighter gadgets so this is an easy energy and money saver.  I just have to remember to do it.

 

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Can you recommend a painter?

Lots of requests for painters right now, mostly for exterior work. 

I've been lucky this summer because the disaster that was our peeling, flaking 'character' home is now looking clean and fresh again.  It has taken a meticulous handyman/painter several weeks to achieve this.  We had an ugly situation because the wrong paint was put over an earlier layer without a transitional primer! We're all fixed now, but be sure your painters know their latex from their oil and talk to them about primers as well as preparation.

There are 5 painters recommended by Ask Around members for interior work here, and another 2 for exterior jobs here, but I know they are all busy.  Can you recommend a painter?  Share your experience with other Ask Around members. 

Recommendations for painters will earn extra cogs this month.  Start your recommendation by clicking here to go to our special offers page. Clicking the links under 'Promotions' will earn you extra cogs points while your help your neighbours. 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

ps. You can also find the 'Special Offers' in the bottom right hand corner of the home page at www.askaround.ca

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Curious About Cogs?

Have you wondered what the 'Cogs Box' on Your Page is for?   Here's the full story:

When you enter recommendations at Ask Around you earn cogs points. Cogs are credits that let you use www.askaround.ca for free.  Everyone gets free cogs when they join Ask Around and then you earn 100 more each time you make a recommendation.  You can find extra cogs at our special offers page too.

You use 10 cogs for each business you check out and members who prefer not to enter recommendations can buy more cogs here. 

Cogs keep Ask Around  FREE for members who post recommendations.

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Finally; all the lurid details.

A couple of members have asked what happened to all the comments they typed in when recommending a business at Ask Around?  Well the mystery is solved. Our latest site update means that comments  now show up, just where you put them, as part of your recommendation.  You will also see these extra details when you browse through the listings looking for the right help.   See which painter left splashes and spots on a member's floors and furniture, which new roof leaked and, more often, which contractors went the extra mile to provide outstanding service and value.

The roofers category is especially rich in intriguing extra details; I like the story about the child's wagon.

So next time you recommend a business at www.askaround.ca don't hold back!  Write as much as you like.  It will all show up to help your friends and neighbours chose the right help for their next job.

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