Dartex Contracting / Blog

For many commercial building owners, restoration has proven to be more cost effective than demolition. EIFS Stucco Finsihing gives new life and style to tired, old commercial buildings. EIFS Stucco now plays a critical role in commercial building's renovation strategies.

Stucco Finishing has been used since ancient times to protect the structural integrity of buildings by adding durability and strength.

One of the other reasons stucco finishing is popular on commercial buildings is its durability. It is for this reason it is widely used on business premises. Stucco also allows builders to add texture and hide the less visually appealing aspects of a building such as cinder blocks or clay bricks that used in the original construction. It can be used as a protective coating for walls and ceilings. A variety of looks is also available as commercial stucco can be tinted to any shade that is wanted to improve the aesthetic value of a building. Besides that, it is also mold, fire and water-resistant.

Although this material can be water-resistant, this is highly dependent on the manner it is applied to the structure. Improper stucco finishing installation and poor drainage will result in moisture collecting within the stucco layer, resulting in mold or mildew. Be careful when you select your stucco finishing contractor that they are well trained, know the latest installation codes and follow them properly.

To see the before and after pictures from this commercial stucco finishing project read the entire article. 

Homeowners choose to change the colour of their staircases for multiple reasons. Some of these reason might be: many homes are bought from previous owners who liked a different interior design style, interior design trends change and you want to keep up, some homeowners just decide to remove the carpet and install hardwood instead and they want to match the look and colour of the stairs with the new wood floors.

Re-staining the staircase is possible but it needs attention to details and needs time. If you are planning to re-stain your staircase you need to set aside time as you will not be able to use the stairs until is not totally dried. So please plan carefully with your family and give enough time for the stain to dry.

Whatever the reason might be, our team is happy to make your dream a reality. The following pictures are the latest of our hardwood floor installation and re-staining of the staircase project for a Milton Family. This home is a Mattamy home and is located on Potts Terrace.

We are few days away from the federal election and glad to see that finally more people made up their minds to get out and vote. This is the time when more and more jokes are coming out too. One of my friends sent me this one and I couldn’t resist not to share.

Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton, and Stephen Harper were all on a private jet together. Stephen Harper gets an idea. He says:"I'm gonna throw this $100 bill out the window, and make one Canadian really really happy." 

Michael Ignatieff doesn't want to be outdone, so he says:"I'll throw these two $50 bills out the window, and make two Canadians really really happy." 

Jack Layton decides to go with the flow and says:"I'll throw these 100 loonies out the window, and make 100 Canadians really really happy." 

At this point, the pilot comes through the door and says:"If you three don't shut the hell up right now, I'll throw all three of you out the window, and make 32 million Canadians really really happy."

Have a great laugh and of course go and vote.

The Jungle Menu

A cannibal was walking through the jungle

And came upon a restaurant – operated by a fellow cannibal.

Feeling somewhat hungry, he sat down and looked over the menu....

Bamboo hardwood floors became one of the most trendy floors in today’s home decoration choices. In my experience however, I found that many homeowners who are considering having bamboo floors installed in their homes have little or no knowledge about bamboo hardwood floor manufacturing process, thus have no idea what sets apart a good bamboo hardwood floor brand from their competitors.

It's amazing to think that bamboo is actually classified as a grass, considering its use as a durable hardwood floor. Yet, it's the grass-like qualities of bamboo that help make it the most sustainable hardwood flooring product in the world.

Doing some research on bamboo hardwood flooring, you surely came across some controversy. There are many home owners displeased with their dented and scratched bamboo hardwood floors, only to be tempered by some of happy buyers who say their bamboo floors has been holding up for years. Furthermore, there's the whole debate on just how sustainable bamboo flooring really is. So who's right you ask? Well, that all depends.

When is comes to bamboo hardwood floor quality, we have to consider many detailes, which should not be dismissed. Some bamboo plantations are sustainable and engage in fair-trade practices, while others are not. Some manufacturers use toxic amounts of formaldehyde in their processing while others do not. Some bamboo is misleadingly marketed as being harder than oak, while other brands are indeed actually harder!

It’s time to upgrade the blog again and post some of the jobs we worked on. My biggest problem is the camera. I’m not a camera man, my wife on the other end is and she needs to remind me again and again to not forget the camera and actually if I take it with me, to use it too.

This project located in Milton is one of many laminate floors we installed. Laminate floor installation is quite easy once you know what to do and you have the needed tools. This project wasn’t a simple square room; it was a second level hallway and an open media room, where we had to change the laminate floor installation flow direction.

Laminate flooring becomes more and more one of the most popular flooring today. This is with good reason. If done correctly and planned carefully, you can be sure of a gleaming, elegant floor that is easy to maintain and a pleasure to use.

Over the last fifteen years as a contractor, I have never seen a truer video in my life. This was so amazingly spot-on with the industry. If you are in a business you have to deal with these kinds of people. Over the past 15 years I have heard every single, I mean every single one. The one is missing in this video is: "What do you mean I need to pay for this addition? I already paid you once for that project and I paid a lot of money".

I deal with this all the time. You can usually tell in the first few minutes if the person is going-to be like this. It is usually best to avoid working for these people completely. Often, if you get the job you will likely wish you didn't.

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The customer's always right, but if you don't pay...you're not a customer, you're a thief.  The sooner a business tells people like this to move on, the stronger the business. This resembles many of my temporary headaches, but very few of my clients. We had some clients who want all the top niche extras, all the quality workmanship and materials – for “Home Depot” prices. It just doesn’t work.

The best way to eliminate these situations is to have a written, detailed contract. At Dartex Contracting we list what’s included in the project for a specified price. Any change to the project HAS to be in WRITING and signed by the project owner and us, with the price difference included. No more: “Could you do that too, and that too” for FREE. No, we can’t, if we do work just two days for free on every project, we will go out of business and then you will have no one to reach for warranties.

Don't think you've discovered a great bargain if you get a bid that is substantially lower than other bids. Remember, you get what you pay for - and if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!!!

Offering a low bid is a contractor manipulation of the homeowner. This is performed by many desperate contractors who will give you a very good price just to get your job.

Monday morning Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced new rules for Canadian mortgages and he said that these new rules will "protect the stability of the economy."

Flaherty said that on March 18, 2011 the new rules for the mortgage rules will come into effect and, "today's measures are about our government continuing to protect the stability of the economy by ensuring lenders' practices are sustainable, which will in turn ensure Canadian families have increasingly secure and sustainable home ownership."

The truth is that the ratio of Canadian household debt to disposable income has reached 148 per cent – which is an alarming burden on Canadian households – and maybe that the reason that this is the third time in three years that Flaherty has tightened credit rules while interest rates remain historically low.

The federal government said that in 60 days:

When your family starts to outgrow your home or if you just simply need more living area, often the first option in people’s mind is to relocate and buy a new house. But, that’s not the only or the easiest or most affordable solution.

Building a home addition is a great way to increase your home value.

Dartex Contracting stepped in and finished the entire home including the newly added home extension part with stucco finishing, completely transforming the look of the home.

Homeowners are increasingly choosing Exterior Insulation Finish Systems aka Stucco, for their cost efficiency, simplicity, beauty and value.

WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WISH EVERYONE 
"A HEALTHY, PROSPEROUS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!" AND TO EXTEND A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OUR CLIENTS IN MILTON AND THE GTA FOR THEIR BUSINESS IN 2010. 

THANK YOU FOR YET ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR!! 

IT HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE BEING OF SERVICE TO YOU. 
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING YOU AND YOURS IN THE NEW YEAR WITH THE SAME OR BETTER LEVEL OF QUALITY AND INTEGRITY FOR 2011. 

RESPECTFULLY

The New Year is full of promise, though you may also get a fair share of tough times. With each progressing year, you find yourself growing confident, experienced, and wise. That's the gift of the New Year. Raise a toast to the year that holds many promises.

To help you cherish the spirit of New Year in a better and a special way, here is an exhaustive and awesome collection of New Year Quotes.

Share these quotes on New Year with your loved ones and wish them health and happiness in the coming year.

Some of you contacted me in regards of the family, who was effected by the explosion/fire. On Wednesday night, I walked back to the area and asked a police officer if he would know where the family is and if they need any help. The police officer told me that the family is located as a temporary shelter at Hawthorne Village Public School.

When I walked in I saw Mr. Clatworthy, the school principal and requested some information on how to help. I learned that the Red Cross stepped in to take care of the family and that the school will work with the family and Red Cross to find out how we can help. This letter was sent to Hawthorne Village Public School families as an update to how and where to help the family:

If you are having problems with the coating over the concrete foundation, where the outside wall meets the grass, if you can see that is chipped, cracked and is flaking off, your home foundation might require repairs. Usually, the reason that it is flaking off is because there has been a buildup of moisture and frost in that area.

A new coat of parging, can prevent moisture entry into your foundation, and help improve the overall appearance of your home.

Parging will not only make your home look better, but it will also help keep out moisture; preventing further cracking, chipping and flaking.

To repair the parging take a hammer and bang away at the wall until all the loose material falls free. Once the wall has been freed of loose debris, apply a super-adhering primer specifically designed for parging. This will help guarantee that the new parging will stick to the old. The primer can be applied directly to the wall and the parging is then applied over the primer. Finishing the parging with a coat of stucco gives elegance to your home. We do many stucco finish pargings.

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There is nothing like the look of a freshly installed hardwood floor. Hardwood lends a sense of timeless elegance to any room. Actually, wood can be a warm, beautiful flooring option for any room as long as it’s given a sturdy, protective finish and is dutifully maintained.

The elegance of a hardwood floor adds character to any room in a home or work place. The natural characteristics of wood add a dimension to the room that many try to duplicate but because each floor is of nature’s own making it is unique and as such never replicated.

Before installing wood flooring, is important to stack it indoors for a few days to allow the wood time to adjust to your home’s humidity level.

We installed hardwood last year to our clients in three rooms and we received a call to go back and remove the carpet and install hardwood in the two kids’ rooms too. Is important to go back if possible to the same supplier and order the same wood. It took more than three weeks to get matched the wood, but this allows the owner to have an even look throughout the home.

We just finished a commercial stucco project in the city of Waterdown. This is a TD Bank and it will be opening soon to customers in area. This commercial project is a brick and stucco combination and our team from Dartex did the Stucco installation and stucco finishing part.

Once the bank will be open to the public and we’ll be in the neighborhood, we’ll definitely post a picture with the finished project. As for now, we finished our part of the job and moved to the next one.

Commercial Stucco project finished, builder was satisfied with our workmanship and quality, Dartex gets paid … this should be the process when everyone is satisfied at the end.

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