Handyman, columnist, broadcaster, author.
Born at Riding Mountain in 1939, one of four children of Dorothy Charlotte Gabler (1918-2008) and Elvin George Dalgliesh (1913-2010), his father owned a sawmill and building business, which influenced young George’s decision to find employment at a building supply company at Winnipeg. While there, he built up a clientele and a reputation for going out of his way to help customers and solve problems. He also found that here was a particular interest and need for assistance in building recreation rooms, and in 1962 started designing and selling rec rooms for a lumber company. Later, he became sales manager for a home improvement company specializing in rec rooms. In 1971, after some urging from a freelance writer friend, he began writing “how-to” columns for the Winnipeg Free Press on building basement rec rooms.
In 1977, he wrote a book called Building A Rec Room. It was inexpensive to buy and written in simple language with easy-to-follow instructions, making it a popular item for do-it-yourselfers. In 1982, he followed it up with Building A Bar and Other Rec Room Built-Ins, which also enjoyed success on the bookshelves and at his personal appearances at home shows. He published, marketed, and distributed the books himself.
His regular weekly newspaper column, called, “Fixing Up the House,” eventually proved so popular, it turned into a 26-article series and was syndicated to a number of Canadian daily newspapers. As well, he hosted his own regular handyman phone-in radio show, the only one of its kind in Canada, and was soon appearing regularly on radio open-line shows all across Canada. In the later 1980s, he became the featured handyman on local Saturday-morning television.
In 1984, he was named as a member of the Province of Manitoba’s newly-created Energy Council, which was to develop programs concerning energy conservation using alternative technologies, and to provide the Energy and Mines Minister with assessments and recommendations on existing energy policies. Meanwhile, he operated a rec-room-fireplace building business in Winnipeg, then expanded to George Dalgleish Building Services.
He was married to his wife Diane for 51 years. They had no children. In his free time, he enjoyed vacations at Riding Mountain National Park.
He died at Winnipeg on 21 January 2012.
“‘Rec rooms’ are expensive,” The Leader-Post, 18 May 1977.
“Parasiuk names energy council,” Manitoba Information Services, 3 February 1984.
Obituary [Elvin Dalgleish], Neepawa Banner, 22 January 2010, page 16.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 13 February 2012.
“George Dalgliesh,” Dawes-Douglas Family Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 11 February 2026
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