Desjardins, sponsor of Ma Maison RONA for 6 years

The final episode aired on June 22, 2009. Congratulations to the Blue family, Mélissa Nault, Éric Dubois and little Vince who got the most public votes at the greatest number of steps. The family is the winner of the wonderful home it built, furnished and decorated over the weeks.

Congratulations also to the Yellow family, Marie-Pier Lavergne, Simon Bélanger and Charles, Ève-Marie and Laurence, winners of a $25,000 downpayment and Desjardins Loan Insurance toward the purchase of their home.

In addition, Desjardins is giving both teams one year's worth of home insurance.

Thank you to the large number of Desjardins members who participated in the "Ask Your Question on the Ma Maison RONA TV Show" contest and to Julie Blanchette, Personal Finance Advisor and Sébastien Ellart, P&C Insurance Agent.

Ask Your Question on the Ma Maison RONA TV Show 2009 contest

The contest ran from January 5 to 30. Contestants sent in their questions about home financing, remortgaging, insurance, renovations and building. The people who sent in the winning questions will each receive a $500 gift certificate, courtesy of Desjardins and RONA, as well as the chance to ask their questions of a Desjardins expert on the Ma Maison RONA TV Show.

Come back each week to read the 8 winning questions and answers from the Desjardins experts. The answers provided may be useful to you for your own projects!

Question of the week

Read the 2009 winning questions from the Ask Your Questions on the Ma Maison RONA TV Show contest as well as the answers from Desjardins experts here on our site.

Our experts

Julie Blanchette, Personal Finance Advisor

Julie has been working at Desjardins for 9 years. She held several positions before becoming a personal finance advisor 5 years ago. Specialized in mortgages, she answers members' questions and gives them information about the steps involved in the home buying process. She also helps them make informed choices that correspond to their needs. What she likes best about her work is being in contact with people and helping them make their dream of becoming a homeowner a reality. Buying a home is something that only happens a few times in a lifetime, and Julie is proud to be a part of it.

Sébastien Ellart, P&C Insurance Agent

Sébastien has been a home and auto insurance agent at Desjardins General Insurance for 3 years. Prior to this, he worked in the Desjardins caisse network and in Environmental Education. Originally from France, he arrived in Quebec 7 years ago with a wealth of experience and looking for new challenges. His career path demonstrates his great skill, creativity and advisory service sense. Proud to be part of the largest network of insurance agents in Quebec, Sébastien strives to respond to the individual needs of his clients and ensure they are entirely satisfied with the service they've received.

Here's the lowdown on the show

Two family teams (each including a construction entrepreneur, interior designer, carpenter and team leader) build and decorate 2 houses. During each episode, both families finish one room. The audience at home then gets to vote for the team they think completed the most impressive work that week. The quality, functionality and creativity of each family's work is taken into consideration, as well as their effort, motivation and team spirit.

Each clan works under the watchful eye of the camera, which reveals the friendships being built within the 2 teams. The families learn from experts and get an opportunity to make their dream home a reality—with a little elbow grease!

At the end of the series, the family that has won the most episodes wins the home they worked on. However, the second family doesn't leave empty-handed. They win a $25,000 downpayment on their home from Desjardins—a significant head start on buying their home.