A French drain is a surefire way to keep your basement dry, clean and mold-free. It keeps water away from your furniture and belongings and removes it from your basement in an efficient and tidy manner. The type of French drain you use and the proper installation process will strongly impact how well your basement will be protected from flooding and moisture.

Without a quality drainage system, groundwater will collect in your basement and cause mold and rot. Drain tile and French drain were originally designed by Henry French in the 1920s. It was first made with clay tile, but can now be found made of round plastic piping. HGTV writes that the best way to install a French drain is to use perforated drainage pipes to allow water to enter or exit through openings along the pipe. They add that slotted pipes are better to use than pipes with small round holes because they can reduce the amount of fine soil particles that get into the pipe.

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The recent housing crisis flooded the real estate market with properties. Sellers today are competing with builders desperate to get rid of newly built homes and banks willing to sell foreclosed properties at much less than they are worth as a way to cut their losses.

To make matters worse, a slow economy is causing people to postpone bigger expenses, and the credit crunch made it harder for potential home buyers to qualify for mortgage loans. As a result, there are tons of homes for sale and not nearly enough qualified buyers.

Sellers trying to move the property quicker, and not willing to lose money on the deal, know that they need to make their property appeal to a home buyer. That means investing some money in improvements in order to make the home more "sellable".

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Cottages are quite common in Ontario as well as surrounding areas in Canada. Many residents flock to summer homes near a lake in order to escape city life or get relief after spending months indoors hiding from the cold and snow.

The Seattle Times reports that one in seven Canadians owns a second home, many of these being vacation cottages that are near the water. For those who have a cottage, keep in mind that if you want to get the most out of your cottage you need to waterproof it!

Having a cottage to escape to once the weather gets warm is a Canadian tradition dating back to the 1850s when wealthy Toronto residents starting purchasing summer homes, according to the Ontario History journal. Cottages began springing up on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton, as well as the St. Lawrence River, Rice Lake, Charleston Lake, and the Kenora region as more people (referred to as "cottagers") began making a yearly trek to the water. The routine of visiting your cottage, or a rented one, every summer soon became a part of Canadian culture, the Seattle Times writes.

If a cold, clammy floor, sagging ceiling tiles and moldy walls are unacceptable upstairs, why would you accept them downstairs? Learn easy steps to remodeling your basement.

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