Supporting local businesses during renovations
Supporting local businesses while renovating

Does the thought of spending the summer in your backyard motivate you to renovate? It’s the case for several people, judging by the lineups and increased delivery timelines in hardware stores and garden centres in Quebec. However, we must not forget that the shopping experience won’t be the same as before the pandemic. Therefore, it’s important to be prepared before heading to the stores and to have an idea of what you need!

Even though Quebec businesses follow the same rules, the social distancing measures are not applied the same way everywhere. Some stores have stricter rules than others, so you must be ready for anything. The golden rule is to plan your construction projects before leaving the house. Take the time to shop online, read the comments, and compare the prices. Make note of your favourite items. Once you’ve made your choices, you can order online and pick up the items in the store. Don’t forget that you can’t go into stores to only walk around, so it’s better to have an idea of what you want to buy before going in. Furthermore, don’t forget to plan a budget because it’s easy to get carried away once you’re in the store!

Choose your project

So you’ve decided to build a new patio, a porch, a chicken coop, or a playground module for the kids? Without a doubt, there are tons of projects to make your yard more appealing! Take the time to educate yourself before starting your renovation project - many websites and blogs will give you great ideas and will guide you through the choice of materials. Once you jot all your ideas down, note the dimensions and choose building materials depending on what’s important for you. Is it a sustainable product? Is maintenance easy? Do you need to repaint it every year? You’ll be able to ask a store clerk for assistance. However, as they are very busy with health measures, you might be waiting longer for an answer. If you already have a good idea of the materials needed, the experience will definitely be simpler.

Support local stores

If you’re going spend money, you might as well do it locally. If you don’t know the Panier bleu, now’s the time to learn about it. This is an initiative supported by the Government of Quebec to help local businesses and to grow the economy that has been greatly disturbed during the last few months. Giving a hand to the local store will certainly help them stay afloat! Thanks to this search engine, it is possible to easily find local stores close to you. If you want to quickly complete your projects, going to a local store is a lot more efficient than buying online because of potentially long delivery times.

Gardens: A fun project

A lot of people are leveraging the pandemic to go back to the basics: bake bread, cook more, buy local food, and create a garden! This is a great project to do with the kids. They will learn a lot about food and its origins, and will most likely be excited about harvesting the vegetables they grew and watered during the summer. Before diving into your garden, you must carefully choose its location depending on sunlight. You must also read about different vegetables to make sure you plant them in the right spot. Some vegetables are more difficult and do not tolerate the presence of others by their side. Therefore, it is best to do some research to have a great harvest. No place for a garden in the backyard? There are different types of bins you can put on your land or your balcony. Not only are they great-looking, they will allow you to have many types of vegetables and herbs in reach during the summer.

No matter what kind of project you’re planning for the next few weeks, remember to plan it properly and try to shop locally. Your shopping experience will be more fun and more efficient.


Joanie Chartand is a paid spokesperson of Sonnet Insurance.

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