Skip to main content

FAQ

Congratulations on purchasing a new home with QuantumPlace Developments Inc.

Below we will walk through some frequently asked questions received from new home owners.

You bought a home, now what?

Congratulations!  The most difficult decisions are now behind you, its now time to set yourself up for success in your new home and avoid some moving pains.  Below are a few things that are important to set up in your first few weeks.

Set up your new address everywhere

Now that you’re in your new digs, people need to be able to find you. Make sure to notify your friends and family. You want to get all your holiday cards, right?

Next is your employer — this one is important and frequently forgotten, so make sure you drop your HR department a line so they can update their records.

Don’t make the mistake of forgetting your creditors! The last thing you want is a ding to your credit score because a bill went to the wrong place.

Finally, the Canadian Postal Service needs to know your new address. Set up mail forwarding from your old place to your new home to make sure you don’t miss any important correspondence.

Connect the utilities

It’s smart to connect all your must-have utilities — like water, gas and electricity — before you move in. This will help pave the way for a smooth move-in process and ensure you have the essential necessities as you’re trying to get settled in your new place.

Depending on your neighborhood and the local service providers, there can be hoops to jump through to connect utilities. Check with your local providers to determine the process, what type of ownership or residence verification you need, and how far in advance you should schedule turn-on for your utilities.

It is recommended that internet and television connections be scheduled at least the day after possession.

Insurance

You probably set up homeowners’ insurance while you were processing your mortgage paperwork, which is great. But your address can affect your car insurance as well, so make sure to check in with your insurance company to confirm that your car insurance is sufficient.

Talk to your agent about how your big, new asset affects your other insurance products — many agencies offer a bundling discount, so don’t leave money on the table by not bundling all your insurance products.

Get to know your new home

In case of emergency, you need to know where everything is in your new home!

First, the main water shut-off valve — This is typically located in your mechanical room.  Make sure you know how to shut off your water in case a faucet breaks or a mechanical component like your dishwasher starts leaking.

Next, find the electrical box and make sure your fuses or switches are well-labeled. Nothing is more frustrating than blowing a fuse and having to check each one individually because nothing is labeled accurately. And you might be surprised — sometimes fuses from different parts of the house are tied together on one switch, so do your homework early and don’t be left scratching your head during an outage.

Find the gas shut-off valve, if applicable. During a natural disaster or if you smell natural gas inside your home, the first directive is often to shut off the gas, so it’s super important to know where the gas shutoff valve is. If at some point you smell gas in the house and need to shut it off, you don’t want to have to go searching for the valve while your house fills with gas.  Localized shut-offs are located at all gas equipment (i.e. furnace, fireplace and/or range).

If you have a sump pump, make sure to test it. Sump pumps are amazing if they’re used correctly, but if not, they can lead to thousands of dollars worth of damage. They are located in the basement or crawl space of a home, and they ensure that if there is standing water in your home, it is pumped out into your storm sewer or a containment pond.

What to expect in your first year of home ownership?

A warranty appointment will be created at the time of your possession approximately 60 days after your possession date for a walkthrough.  If any deficiencies are deemed warrantable, a follow-up “trades-day” will be created to remediate the deficiencies in a timely manor.  Another warranty appointment will be created 11 to 12 months after your possession date to ensure all deficiencies on materials and labour are completed prior to your one-year anniversary in your new home.

What Home Maintenance is required for my new home?

FURNACE:
First things first. Modern day furnaces have many more safety sensors than standing pilot older models, but homeowners must be aware they are working on a gas appliance that can harm or potentially kill someone if not installed or operating properly. Furnaces that are well maintained should provide many years of service without unexpected breakdowns.

The homeowner should change the furnace filter 4 times per year at the start of each season. The site supervisor may have mentioned “Turkey Days” as a reminder to change the filter at Christmas, Easter, Canada Day, and Thanksgiving.

The homeowner should service and clean their furnace and connected ducts, as well as the dryer vent, once per year by a licensed technician.

HEAT RECOVERY VENTILATION(HRV) MAINTENANCE:
An HRV brings fresh air into your home without losing heat. Properly maintained, an HRV can save energy costs in your housing project while maintaining a clean, healthy indoor environment.

You can extend the life and efficiency of your HRV by doing regular maintenance throughout the year. It only takes 7 simple steps to keep your HRV in peak condition:

Step 1: Turn off the HRV
Step 2: Clean or replace the air filters
Step 3: Check outdoor intake and exhaust hoods for blockages
Step 4: Inspect the condensate drain for blockages
Step 5: Clean the heat exchange core with water (hose)
Step 6: Clean grilles and inspect ductwork yearly
Step 7: Inspect the fan for any debris or obstructions.

HOT WATER SYSTEM MAINTENANCE:
Water Storage Heater: Once a year, drain your water heater and rinse out any sediment that has collected in it. If you have a tankless water heater and live in an area with hard water, think about having a pro come out once a year and descale it. If you are starting to notice strange tastes or odours coming from the tank, stop using it and check it immediately.

Hot water tanks are the standard for most homes across the country. Sometimes called “storage water heaters,” these units typically have a lifespan between 8 and 12 years. However, this lifespan can be cut short if damages and wear are left to develop over the years.

Tankless Water Heater: Tankless water heaters do not face the same problems water tanks could since they don’t actually store any water for lengthy periods of time. Instead, it heats and delivers hot water on demand.

Because of this, it’s not necessary to perform a full flush of the system once a year. If you start noticing issues with the performance of your hot water heater, you can then perform a flush with water and white vinegar to remove lime and mineral build-up. It is recommended to have the tankless water heater inspected by a certified technician every couple of years.

SMOKE DETECTORS and CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS MAINTENANCE:
Test every smoke alarm monthly. Replace the batteries once a year. The best time to do this is near the end of December. During the holidays we like to use candles more frequently and tend to cook a lot more. This is why you should inspect every smoke detector in your house to make sure it is in proper condition and replacing the batteries if needed. The same goes for carbon monoxide detectors.

What is my Warranty Coverage?

Warranty coverage follows the “New Alberta Home Warranty” guidelines set forth by the Government of Alberta. The following gives you a timeline of what is covered under warranty and for how long. For a more in-depth look at the New Alberta Home Warranty, find it here.

1 Year: Materials & Labour – Coverage for defects in materials and labour (paint, flooring, trim)
2 Years: Delivery & Distribution Systems – Coverage for defects in materials and labour related to delivery and distribution systems (heating, electrical, plumbing)
5 Years: Building Envelope – Coverage for defects in the system of components that separate the conditioned space from unconditioned space (roof, exterior walls)
10 Years: Structural – Coverage for the load-bearing parts of the home (frame, foundation)

Has your furnace stopped working?

If your furnace has stopped operating, the most common cause is that air is no longer able to get to the furnace or the exhaust is not able to leave. It is important to note where your intake and exhaust of the furnace are located on the exterior of your home. Ice build-up can occur below the exhaust as hot humid air is released from the house. If enough ice builds up, it can choke the furnace, resulting in an error code. The furnace will automatically shut down until the blockage is addressed. It is required that the blockage be cleared from the exhaust pipes prior to any call to a service technician.

The furnace intake can become blocked as some humidity freezes on the interior of the intake pipe. The furnace may sense that it is working too hard to pull air in and shut itself off. It is required that the homeowner remove the ice build-up prior to calling a certified technician. Once the blockage is cleared, restart the furnace, and assess. If a problem persists, call the emergency number for an HVAC technician provided in your possession binder.

No Hot Water?

If your hot water tank has stopped working in the winter season, the most common cause is that the hot water tank is either struggling to pull air through the intake or struggling to push air out of the exhaust.  It is required that the homeowner clear any blockage at the intake and exhaust on the exterior of the home prior to a service call.  Once the blockage is cleared, unplug and re-plug-in the hot water tank.  If the problem persists, call the emergency number for a plumber provided in your possession binder.

Is there frost build-up on your windows?

If water or ice has built up on your windows above 4 inches, we need to get that humidity out as quickly as possible.  Its best to use both a bathroom fan for a short period of time and the HRV to expel humidity inside the house to the exterior quickly.  If the HRV runs for over an hour in -30 C weather, it is likely to freeze up.

Why do we care if there is Excessive Frost Build-up on your Windows?  ATTIC RAIN

Frost build-up on your windows, exterior doors, jambs, handles, and/or hardware is caused by a combination of cold temperatures outside and high humidity/warm air in your home. This causes the warm, humid air inside to attract to the coldest surfaces in your home – in this case, windows.

One golden rule to remember is: if there is condensation on the interior surface of an exterior window or door, then the humidity in the home is too high. Action must be taken to lower the humidity levels.

HUMIDITY:  Humidity is a very important factor when it comes to the maintenance of your home.  It is important to watch for visual ques with regards to humidity levels inside the home, specifically during the winter months.  Learning how to prevent indoor condensation during winter will dramatically increase the longevity of your home.  It is important as a homeowner to take necessary steps to ensure your home is running efficiently.

It is important that the homeowner review the role of humidity and ventilation management in your home to mitigate any potential damage from melting condensation during the winter.

STEP 1:  Do any of your windows or doors look like this? YES, or NO.

STEP 2:  If the answer is YES, then you need to immediately turn down the humidity controls in your home. These controls can be found on the thermostat or a separate humidity control. It is also recommended that you open your blinds or curtains at least a few inches to allow for air circulation and to prevent condensation as well as ice build-up on your windows.

If the answer is NO, then the humidity levels in your home are ideal. Periodically check your windows for condensation during the winter months.

STEP 3:  Continue to monitor the amount of condensation and lower the humidity levels until the condensation disappears. It will take 24-48 hours for the humidity level to decrease so please continue to make sure the condensation is reduced.

Is there ice build up on your HRV?

It is possible that the humidity inside the house was set higher than the upper limit of the HRV, meaning the humidifier was pumping humidity into the house while the HRV was running continuously to remove it.  To remove the ice from the HRV, we must first unplug the HRV.  Give it time to de-ice (a couple of days).  Do not add heat additional heat to the unit.  Make sure that the drain line is not blocked so that the ice can melt and flow to the drain without making a mess.

Humidity settings for the winter months can be found online (confirm climate zone 6 in Canada) or in your warranty binder.

Two important points to note:

The HRV’s primary purpose is to bring in fresh air and remove stale air from the dwelling. The HRV passively removes humidity, not actively.  It takes time and is dependent on bringing in outside air.  If that outside air is extremely cold, it doesn’t remove as much humidity as quickly.

If the temperature is well below freezing outside, and there is a lot of humidity inside the house, the HRV will not be able to keep up.  You’ll need to run a bathroom fan or OTR fan to accelerate the removal of the humidity.

Humidity presents itself visually before it becomes a major problem for the home internally, especially in cold weather periods.