Observation is separated from diagnosis
Pages describe what a person might see and what era it can be associated with. They do not state what a material contains, what condition a system is in, or whether anything at an address is safe.
Editorial standards
Editorial policy
The rules every page on this site is written against, and the canonical structure those pages sit in. Last updated .
How does OldHouses.ca decide what it will state?
A statement must be supportable by a current primary Canadian source, cited beside it, and it must not describe an individual property. Anything about condition, composition, safety or insurability is framed as a question for a licensed professional, a laboratory, a record holder, or the insurer.
Evidence rules
No universal danger, lifespan or coverage claims
We do not write that a material is dangerous, that a component must be replaced, that a system lasts a fixed number of years, or that insurers behave a particular way, unless a current primary source supports that exact statement for that jurisdiction and is cited beside it.
Primary Canadian sources, cited near the claim
Health Canada, CMHC, Natural Resources Canada, the National Research Council, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, provincial safety authorities and regulators, and municipalities. Every source appears in the source ledger with the date it was checked.
No retrospective code conclusions
Model codes are published nationally and adopted provincially with amendments and separate effective dates. We do not conclude which code edition governed a specific house on a specific date.
Nothing is invented
No fabricated statistics, inspection findings, expert reviews, testimonials, author personas or dates. Where a figure would be needed and no primary source supports it, the page says what to ask instead.
Corrections and updates
When a source changes, the page changes and the ledger's checked date is updated. Structured data reports the same modification date shown to readers.
Local-only tools
The risk profile, scope builder, worksheet and checklist run in the browser. They produce question sets, not assessments, and they do not require an account.
Canonical pillars
| Page | Role |
|---|---|
| Buying an old house in Canada | Due-diligence pillar |
| Canadian home construction timeline | Era reference hub |
| Systems through time | System reference hub |
| How to inspect an older home | Investigation workspace |
| Evidence atlas | Material observation catalogue |
| Records, permits and insurance | Verification directory |
| Old house source ledger | Evidence register |