News
Check here for the latest news about Longwood Building Corporation as well as informative articles on caring for your home.
Top tips on preparing for the holiday season
Are you ready for the holiday season? It can be a busy time, but these tips will help you keep everything on track so you can devote your attention to what really matters at this time of year: family, friends and relaxation. A welcoming (and frugal) front porch...
Top tips on saving for a down payment
Saving for a down payment has always been challenging, but with home prices, interest rates and inflation finally stabilizing, the time is right for prospective homebuyers – especially first-time buyers – to strategize on buying that longed-for home. Here are 10 tips...
Your fall maintenance routine
You own a gorgeous new home, but a fall maintenance routine is essential for keeping it in peak condition. Here are ten must-dos during September, October and November. Exterior faucets Draining outside faucets in the fall prevents the possibility of water damage from...
A thoughtful guest room makes visitors feel welcome
Whether your visitors are staying for a weekend or a month, a thoughtfully arranged guest room will help make them feel welcome and part of the family. Here are some tips for a guest suite that won’t break the bank. It starts with space You’re not going to surrender...
Keeping your home safe for children
Most injuries to young children occur at home, according to the Government of Canada. Falls, poisonings, burns: these and other accidents are to blame. The good news is they are preventable and, for the most part, they don’t require a lot of effort or cost to...
What to do on your staycation
Wondering what to do on a staycation this summer? Skipping the annual getaway because it’s too darned expensive doesn’t mean you and the family have to sit at home all summer wishing you were somewhere else. The Ottawa area is jam-packed with great summer...
Longwood: still fun after 35 years
How often do you hear someone who’s been on the job for 35 years say it’s still fun? Chat with Guy Whissel, founder and president of Longwood Building Corporation, about his job for more than a few minutes, and it’s guaranteed he’ll say “fun” more than once. In fact,...
Your summer maintenance routine
Setting up a summer maintenance routine for your home will help keep it operating efficiently and looking good while providing a safe, comfortable space for you and your family. Regular TLC also maintains your home’s value, which is important if you decide to sell....
Making your laundry room efficient and beautiful
In the not-too-distant past, the laundry room often meant a dreary corner of the basement where a washer and, if you were lucky, a dryer fought for space with the kids’ sports equipment, battered furniture and musty boxes of books. No more. Today’s laundry rooms are...
Giving back: everyone wins
Bleak news stories, political polarization, the pandemic: no wonder so many of us have occasionally felt isolated and powerless the past couple of years. But there’s a solution: giving back. Whether you volunteer at a seniors’ centre or just become a regular blood...
Keep your family and home safe in an emergency
Are you prepared to keep your family and home safe in an emergency? Most Canadians aren’t. For instance, fewer than half of us have an emergency kit. Yet in Ottawa, we have witnessed the destruction of the 2022 derecho, tornadoes in both 2018 and 2019, floods in 2017...
Building energy-efficient homes is in Longwood’s DNA
Simon Whissel, Longwood's construction manager, and Chelsea Pigeon, project coordinator. Photo courtesy of Better Builder magazine. You might say that building energy-efficient homes is in the DNA of Ottawa-area homebuilder Longwood Building Corporation. The...
Top tips on winter home maintenance
Canadian winters are tough and that makes winter home maintenance essential for protecting the spaces we love. The average homeowner can do a lot of basic maintenance themselves, but if you’re uncertain or uneasy about some tasks, try asking neighbours or friends...
Regular appliance maintenance: What you need to know
Regular appliance maintenance is easy to neglect but keeping up to date pays off in both the short and long run. For example, a properly operating oven door gasket ensures maximum cooking efficiency while vacuuming your refrigerator coils can help extend the life of...
Five fall daytrips you don’t want to miss
October means cooler weather, but that’s no reason to stay inside when fall daytrips around are so easy and plentiful. From the Larose Forest to Chelsea, Carp and beyond, here’s some of what’s on offer this autumn. Reconnect with nature The magnificent, 10,000-hectare...
Overcoming garage clutter frees up storage space
Garage clutter and the absence of smart storage makes the space one of the great underutilized areas in our homes. In fact, 44 per cent of respondents to a 2019 survey said their garage was the most disorganized space in their house (it's a U.S. survey, but we...
Energy-efficient homes and Longwood’s Green Solution
No wonder energy-efficient homes are in such demand: they cost less to heat and cool, they help fight climate change and they offer buyers a remarkably comfortable environment. Longwood Building Corp. has been building homes that buyers love for 30 years, but the...
Cooking up a storm: how to plan your outdoor kitchen
Canadian winters make us love Canadian summers even more, and an outdoor kitchen can take backyard life to a whole new level. Space, budget and personal taste will influence your outdoor cooking area, but here’s some of what you need to know before starting on your...
Spring maintenance keeps your home in tip-top shape
A spring maintenance routine helps keep the space you and your family love operating at peak performance. It also helps you identify and carry out small repairs before they become big ones. Here are seven must-do jobs and three extra tips. Air conditioner A little...
Five tips for eco-friendly gardening
The climate is changing, but eco-friendly gardening is a way to help the planet while keeping our homes looking great. What’s more, it’s not hard to be a truly green gardener; it just takes a little know-how. Here are five ways you can go greener. Be kind to the soil...
Five travel attractions close to Ottawa’s east end
With spring here and summer around the corner, it’s time to explore some of the travel attractions close to the city’s east end. Our suggestions include indoor and outdoor destinations, so even a rainy day shouldn’t keep you at home. Operating hours and pandemic...
Achieving a safer, healthier home and planet
Sometimes it feels as though a healthier home and planet is an impossible challenge because of obstacles ranging from hazardous chemicals in our food to a changing climate. But we and the planet are resilient and taking small steps at home and in our communities can...
Five reasons to upgrade your basement
Wondering if you should upgrade your basement by adding a suite, an office or other space? Depending on your circumstances, it could be an excellent investment, with both immediate and long-term paybacks. Not that a major basement upgrade is cheap: depending on what...
How to reduce your household energy costs
No matter how well-built your home is, household energy costs seem to go nowhere but up. You can’t stop heating or cooling it, but you can control another important energy expense: electricity. Here are some ideas for savings now and in the future. Laundry savings...
Five ways to enjoy winter
From skating on a neighbourhood rink to tobogganing on a local hill, opportunities abound to enjoy winter in and around Ottawa. Not only is it good for our health to get outside, but we also build important connections with nature, our family and our communities when...
Top tips on working from home
Working from home, at least part of the time, now appears to be a permanent fact for many of us. It has pros and cons, less commuting being one of the advantages, having to put up with Zoom meetings being one of the downsides. An efficient, comfortable work space...
Top tips when it’s time to downsize
Are you at the stage of life where you’re wondering if it’s time to downsize? We love our big family homes, but eventually the work and cost of maintenance — cutting grass, shovelling snow, paying for upkeep on that aging furnace or air conditioner — outweigh our...
Creating a home inventory
Do you have a home inventory? Is it up to date? Where do you keep it and is it easily accessible? These are important questions if you’re the victim of a burglary, fire or other disaster and you’re making an insurance claim. “A thorough inventory of your home’s...
Maintaining good indoor air quality
Whether it’s a summer heat wave or a winter cold snap, we spend a lot of time inside our homes, and that makes indoor air quality important. Modern homes like Longwood’s are designed and built to maximize air quality, but everyday life causes the quality to...
Selecting the right upgrades for your home
One of the most exciting parts of the home buying journey is selecting upgrades for your home. This is your opportunity to further personalize your new space and ensure it fits your family’s lifestyle and tastes. But, you have to be strategic when choosing upgrades...