Just taking a quick moment to invite you all to visit our updated CALITRI Photo Gallery. It will give you an opportunity to share in some of recent projects and perhaps even INSPIRE  you to make te changes to your own home that perhaps you have been contemplating.

CALITRI will transform your space, using the utmost in quality workmanship, design, and functionality. Hand in hand with some of the most highly qualified architects, and designers in Toronto we work.create.live.

Wishing one and all a safe and fun Family Day weekend.

Knob and tube wiring can was considered safe and functional. Many have safely owned homes with knob and tube, however there are some issues to be concerned about, such as, the fact that there is no ground wire, which may be an issue for today’s lifestyle, high electricity usage and technology. Also, there are potential fire hazards with the break down of the insulation around the knob and tube wiring that comes with age, and should the black and white wires make contact.
In recent years some home insurance companies have begun to refuse to insure homes with knob and tube wiring, however, there are companies that continue to offer regular priced policies for homes with knob and tube, and others who ask a premium for this insurance. When updating to new wiring make sure to keep the receipt to show prospective buyers when it comes time to sell.

 
LIMITATIONS WITH KNOB AND TUBE WIRING:

• Usually it is restricted to a maximum of 60 amp service.
• The wire is old, and its insulation may no longer be properly intact.
• It is not a grounded system, making it more hazardous than modern wiring.
• It has a two-prong receptacle,which restricts the use of small kitchen appliances.
• It is true that in bedrooms, living rooms, and dining rooms, plugging in a TV or lamp poses very little risk. The opposite is true in areas where you may come in contact with water such as bathroom, kitchens, basements, crawlspaces, and outdoors. An ungrounded system in these areas could be potentially hazardous.

SAFETY TIPS:

• Never replace blown fuses with larger amp fuses.
• Never cut the grounding (third) prong off a plug to fit into a two-hole receptacle don’t use outlet multiplier plugs to connect several appliances or lamps to one receptacle.
• Knob and tube wiring, on its own, is not inherently a problem. It becomes a problem when it is abused. If you have such wiring, it would be wise to have the system evaluated by a licensed electrician. If necessary, it should be upgraded to modern wire.

Most homes that CALITRI has been restoring in Toronto have opted to bid KNOB and TUBE WIRING adieu once and for all, and have chosen to remove and replace this form of electrical conductor, with a current lifestyle friendly system. CALITRI works with fully insured licensed electrical companies to provide the proper ESA (Electrical Safety Authority) electrical permits.

We will take you with us through the transformation, with ‘before and after’ photographs. As well as chronicling the progression.

Let us begin!!! Here are some ‘BEFORE DEMO’ photos of the original kitchen and dining room which were divided by a wall. The request of the designer was to remove the wall and make a larger kitchen, which would have more of a capacious, airy feel.

THE DEMOLITION:

Once all necessary drawings, and permits have been obtained for your renovation. It’s time to roll up the sleeves and get to work. Many think that the ‘demolition’ segment is actually not part of the project, on the contrary the success of the project leans heavily on the execution of this segment.

Thought and vision has to go into demolition, as well as practicing the necessary Safety Policy that we at Calitri are methodical in having all our employees following. Calitri Construction first ensures that prior to picking up the sledge hammer, all areas that will be left untouched are safely and neatly sealed off; in this process plaster and drywall create alot of dust.

Before swinging that sledge or crowbar, it is imperative to determine what is behind that wall.  Live electrical wire?  Water pipe?  Gas?  Asbestos?  We normally explore this using holes and flashlights, which work wonders at helping us find out what’s in there.  Assume there is electrical wire.

It is crucial to remove all debris and leave a clean area for the next segment. Below you will see photos which are the ‘AFTER DEMO’  of the kitchen/dining room, once wall which divided them has been taken down. This is a superb example of a demo which has been safely and cleanly been excecuted.

Join us next time as we follow this room in its metamorphosis, we will touch upon electrical, drywall and taping.

You can now also follow our corporate news, announcements, and happenings on  Google+ and Facebook.

Wishing everyone continued personal and professional success throughout 2012!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAY

&

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

May 2012 bring you health, abundance and many beautiful family memories. 

 A colour which influences all aspects of the visual world around us, from kitchen accessories, home decor, wall coverings and paint, even extending into cabinetry and furniture pieces.

This year finds us celebrating a colour that is BRIGHT and ENCHANTING while also being HOPEFUL and OPTIMISTIC.

You can imagine how thrilled CALITRI was when they announced (considering it’s one of our company brand colours) TANGERINE TANGO!!!

Pantone has turned to the “spirited reddish-orange” hue to “provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.”

Seeing as many of us found 2011 intense with everything from, politics, world issues, and  life’s day to day ins and outs, time to re-energize, re-fuel and RENOVATE!!!!

Here are some tips to salvage some of those hard earned dollars, and make your household more efficient and budget-smart.

Plug the Power Drain
As much as 75 percent of electricity use by electronics occurs while the devices are off. Big-screen TVs, stereo systems and computer peripherals are some of the worst offenders. Curtail the loss with power strips that kill power when they sense inactivity.

Plug Big Gaps
Practice triage by stopping the big energy bleeders–large, obvious breaches in the basement and attic–before caulking cracks or insulating. Prime offenders are gaps at plumbing stacks, furnace flues and stud cavities inside soffits. Plug holes with expanding foam, foil-backed foam board or fiberglass insulation scraps stuffed in a plastic garbage bag to stop air movement. Use heat-resistant caulk and sheet -metal around chimney flues and combustion vents.

Wrap Pipes
Insulate the first 10 ft. of the hot- and cold-water pipes (heated water can back-flow up the cold pipe) that lead into and out of the hot-water heater and you get double savings. Water arrives 2 to 4 degrees hotter, allowing you to lower the setting on the water heater, and there’s less wait time and water waste. Insulate the full run of exposed hot-water pipes to increase the savings.

Stop Drips
A slow leak of 10 drips per minute from a hot-water faucet wastes 526 gal. a year, or about the equivalent of emptying and refilling a 40-gal. water heater 13 times. Swapping in a new washer or O-ring is an easy fix.

Add Humidity
Dry air retains less heat and feels cooler against the skin. Increase ambient humidity with a
humidifier this winter, and edge the thermostat down a degree or two.

I recently read of a fantastic and inspiring article called 7 Awesome Ideas To Keep Your “Indoor Ecology” Flowin’ by Finer Minds. The premise of the article is to help create a more holistic environment in the home.

The seven ideas that it talks about in depth are:

1. Add some plants to your life
2. Choose good lighting
3. Decorating your space
4. Open your window
5. Control your room temperature
6. Ergonomics matters
7. Adding soothing sounds

A comfortable home is so much more than walls and beams, it is a personal reflection of style, mind, body, and spirit.

Never worry about numbers.  Help one person at a time, and always start with the

From time to time CALITRI gets the opportunity to reach into the community and give back with attending or sponsoring events that are driven by great causes. One such event was a CUT-O-THON by A CHILD’S VOICE FOUNDATION/ANGEL HAIR. The Angel Hair division helps underpriviliged families whose children are struck by cancer to provide a wig for their children.

Gabriella Di Marco, who is the daughter of an invaluable member of our team Linda Grande Di Marco, recently took part in this event, donating her gorgeous long, shiny hair to help a fellow child.

We at CALITRI were honoured to help Gabriella raise money for such a great cause. Way to go Gabi!!!! We are so proud of the thoughtful thing you did, not to mention that your new hairstyle locks chic and ravishing!!!

The goal of most homeowners is to maximize the living space of their home. Every square foot is valuable when it comes to real estate. Therefore, more and more, people are turning to underpinning and lowering their existing basement slab height.

The benefits to doing this are several. Firstly, the finished basement height allows for claustrophobic-free living. All the existing clay drains that may be cracked or plugged get replaced. A new ‘back water preventor’ gets installed on your main drain line, so if the city drains happen to back up, this will prevent flooding of your home. All floors will automatically be leveled upon the pouring of the new concrete floor. It is at this time that you may consider the luxury of radiant in floor heating.

CALITRI is fully licensed and properly insured to under take all structural alterations. It is highly recommended that a structural engineer is consulted for this type of project. The drawings and specifications provided by the structural engineer must be approved and accompanied by a permit from the City of Toronto building department, or your local municipality.