furniture & weather-wear, tear & care

[Mr. Bloom]

*look for sofa fabrics that don't fade. Never considered this before. Sun is powerful here and I will have a home facing south with floor to ceiling windows along one whole side. Every furniture salesperson has warned me. So maybe, sigh I have to buy black leather...but I would love red leather!

You may find that the windows are designed with UV protection...if not, UV films can usually be added.

In any of my homes with modern designed windows, fading has not been an issue, and I've had some upholstered pieces 20+ years

[shootingstar]

Yes, NByNW if you have the humidification advice. I only know it...for preservation of paper materials/archiving purposes. Knowledge can be useless for certain things.

Anyone else have experience with UV film over windows? Any tips? Is there any visible overall effect? I have roll up blinds...all over the place. I prefer vertical panels, but it's too costly for me to replace. The stuff is brand-new anyway, I just hope the rolling mechanism will last for next 5-6 yrs.

I suspect the sun will be powerful. I have been warned that red leather can fade into salmon-pink. ..

I think we get more chinook winds (which are strong 40+ kms. winds) because we are closer to the mountains. I guess cyclists get used to these sudden waves of winds passing through..

[Mr. Bloom]

Just out of curiosity, while I understand you are in an area with more exposure, I don't think of Canadian sun being such an issue, for instance compared to Texas or Arizona.

Is it really this bad or is it just different than what you're used to in BC?

[shootingstar]

It's not like Arizona or Australia.
(I actually would not want to live a top sunny places of the world. It just would make more paranoid re my skin. I'm not kiddin', cycling already gives me plenty of sun. No more. I have to watch my skin now, according to dermatologist.)

But a whole lot sunnier than some of the places where I've lived. Yes, B.C. though might get alot of snow in certain areas, actually temperatures aren't super cold.

http://www.currentresults.com/Weathe...est-cities.php

Calgary's coldness, -25 to -30 degrees C in winter, is off-set by its sunny skies. ( It's not surprising a number of folks here have worked in the Far North, the expression means near the Arctic/in the Arctic...)

I also have never had a home with so much sun exposure. It is also the combination of drier air and very cold temperatures in winter, which can cause certain things to concrete, wood to split/heave plus temperature fluctuations.

Vancouver does not get pavement heave compared to ie. Toronto. I really noticed this when I return to cycle Toronto's bike routes.

[NbyNW]

Here are the recommendations on my humidistat:

-30℃, 15%
-25℃, 20%
-20℃, 25%
-10℃, 30%
-5℃, 35%
0℃, 40%

We have a humidifier that ties into the forced-air ducts of our heating system.

Also a little plug-in unit in the bedroom, which I like to crank up a couple hours before going to bed, then I put the fan on low for overnight so it's not too noisy. It is off the rest of the day so that condensation doesn't build up on the windows.

[shootingstar]

Here are the recommendations on my humidistat:

-30℃, 15%
-25℃, 20%
-20℃, 25%
-10℃, 30%
-5℃, 35%
0℃, 40%

We have a humidifier that ties into the forced-air ducts of our heating system.

Also a little plug-in unit in the bedroom, which I like to crank up a couple hours before going to bed, then I put the fan on low for overnight so it's not too noisy. It is off the rest of the day so that condensation doesn't build up on the windows.

Thanks!! Really, a humidifier tied into your heating system?? Amazing. Sounds foreign...and fancy.

[NbyNW]

Thanks!! Really, a humidifier tied into your heating system?? Amazing. Sounds foreign...and fancy.

Actually they seem to be quite common around here. Most of the homes we looked at when we first moved up had them.

Ours looks a lot like this

Home Depot and Rona also carry some other models.