CANADIAN CONTRACTOR PRINT 4 by Annex Business Media

B.C. inspectors cracking down page 15

Why your business

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BUILD | GROW | PROFIT

Making sense of R-values

CONTRACTOR

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page 38

Restoring

dignity The disability contracting segment is growing rapidly page 16

John McLellan Accessibility contractor Pickering, Ont.

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CONTENTS

features Restoring dignity 16 As the baby boom generation enters its golden years, renovations for the elderly and disabled are a booming business

Getting paid 34 Got a deadbeat client? Sadly, it might be your own damn fault. How to minimize the risks of getting stiffed

Restoring dignity

R values explained 38 Why these often-cited insulation standards can be a misleading indicator of actual performance

Photo: Valeria Csizmadia

R-values

departments Editorials 8 Green renos? Dead, says Rob. Booming, says Steve

Voices 10 Maxwell on the Algo Centre Mall collapse. MacKinnon on subtrades

Getting paid

Site notes 14 Ontario College of Trades: just another Tax? B.C. safety blitz. Swing stage tragedy.

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T:7.875” S:7”

T:10.75” S:10”

Mixing textures 28

Blending the old and the new

CONTENTS

departments departme Contractor U 24 Overwhelmed? Maybe you need better systems The creative eye 28 Mixing textures. Slot-style windows

Stuff we like 44 Hot new hand tools from Stanley, DEWALT and Irwin Mechanical room 46 All about HRVs (heat recovery ventilators)

What did they pay? 50 Guess the cheque written for this foundation pouring

Photos: Larry Arnal

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ONLINE

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How has the business of window manufacturing changed in 20 years? See Rob Koci's interview with the president of Marvin Windows.

FEATURES In an exclusive series, tools editor Steve Maxwell travels to Venice to tell us what renovations and contracting mean in that ancient city.

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CONTRACTOR.ca BUILD | GROW | PROFIT

Volume 13, Number 4 Print 4, Released August 2012 canadiancontractor.ca | Tel: 416 442 5600 |

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EDITORIALS

Voices

GREEN IS SO YESTERDAY By Rob Koci

“

Quietly, consumers have walked away from green renos.

Rob Koci

Associate Publisher rkoci@canadiancontractor.ca

Print 4, 2012

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Green is dead. If you are thinking of becoming an environmental contractor, forget it. There’s no point. The market has disappeared. It’s been a good run for green. It came into fashion in the 1970s, pushed by the oil crisis and the fear that we were heading towards a new Ice Age. Back then, it was mostly pollution that concerned us: dirty air, dirty water, dirty streets. Few businesses were interested in marketing themselves as environmentally-friendly. Cleaning up was a job for governments. But over time, environmentalism began to sound good to consumers. Today, businesses are investing billions of dollars to convince us that their products not only solve a particular consumer problem, but are also “good for the planet.” Over the last decade, many renovators and custom homebuilders have focused their efforts on becoming green builders. At Canadian Contractor, we began to publish our annual Green Report, which brought you up-to-date on green products and green building techniques. And some customers began to shift their priorities: they began to pay more money for green products. And then came 2008. Holding onto our jobs became much more important than whether our carbon footprint was big or small. Stephane Dion and the Liberals were trounced in a federal election after threatening to hit us all with massive carbon taxes. The dissolution of the Kyoto protocol followed. Then came leaked emails from scientists proving they were more interested in protecting their careers than telling the truth about global warming. Quietly, consumers have walked away from green. It still makes sense to build energy efficient buildings that reduce running costs. In fact, that will be the only lasting legacy of the green movement. But to be a “green” contractor? Forget it. It won’t earn you a nickel of extra margin or income. Nobody cares any more.

EDITORIALS

Voices

By Steve Payne

Green is dead, Rob? Green is dead? Nobody cares about green contracting any more, opines my associate publisher across the page. You can’t make any money at it, he says. It won’t earn you a nickel of extra margin. This is because, Rob says, people won’t pay the extra dough for green products and green building techniques in a down economy. I actually agree with Rob that the average middle class Canadian, endlessly anxious about paying the bills in recent years, is nowhere near ready to pay a big upcharge for what might be called “Deep Green” building methods: LEED homes, Net-Zero Energy homes, or anything else of that ilk that costs big bucks for the warm glow (hopefully not emitting too much carbon) of being eco-friendly. But that doesn’t mean that the green movement is dead. Instead of saying “green,” why don’t we just say “energy efficient.” And energy-efficiency surely has to be the biggest driver of renovation spending there has ever been. It drives the replacement window business. It (obviously) drives the insulation industry. It drives the heating, ventilating and air conditioning industry. In our industry, energyefficiency drives us forward the way that fuel economy has driven the automobile industry for more than 30 years. Sure, Rob says, but that’s all the green movement has done: make us extremely conscientious about energy efficiency. That’s green’s only legacy. That’s like saying that the only legacy of the anti-lead movement is that we don’t put lead in paint and gasoline any more. Or the only legacy of the civil rights movement is that a black man can become president. The only legacy of the green movement is not, indeed, energy efficiency. But if it were, what a hell of a job creator it has already proved to be.

“

The green reno movement is a hell of a job creator.

“

GREEN IS HERE TO STAY

Steve Payne Editor

spayne@canadiancontractor.ca

www.canadiancontractor.ca

Print 4, 2012

VOICES

Steve Maxwell

“

Even if just one public building collapses like this in all of Canada, it proves that something is disgustingly rotten.

The Algo Centre Mall collapse: More than the roof caved in What is happening to our industry, our leadership and our values?

The parking deck and roof of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., collapsed on June 23, killing Lucie Aylwin, 37, an employee of College Boreal who was working one day a week at the lottery booth there to help save money for her wedding; and Doloris Perizzolo, 74, a widow and mother who was believed to be opening Nevada pull-tab tickets at the same

Photo: QMI Agency

Print 4, 2012

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kiosk. In addition, 20 people received non-life-threatening injuries. Here, our tools editor, Steve Maxwell, writes from the heart about the very disturbing questions raised by this needless tragedy. ~ Steve Payne, Editor The roof of a certified “safe” public mall collapses. Rescue efforts are called off as victims frantically tap for help in vain, buried alive, ten feet from daylight. Authority figures offer public pronouncements that somehow manage to be both meaningless and infuriating all at the same time. You’d think this was all part of some terrible, third-world disaster, but no. It happened right here in Canada, and it proves that we’re losing three big things we used to have in abundance in this country. The first thing that’s undeniably on the decline is our trust in the competence of technical professionals. One way or another, the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario was a piece of dangerous garbage. What else can you say when the roof of any public building collapses on a calm day in June? It was either designed as junk, or some slipshod building company failed to live up to the construction or maintenance details that human life and safety depend on. Even if just one public building collapses like this in all of Canada, it proves that something is disgustingly rotten. This is strike number one against a country that used to have the technical safety of ordinary public structures well in hand. The Algo Centre Mall recently passed “engineering” and “structural” studies. That’s a big strike number two. There was a time when engineers could be counted on to reliably verify the safety of things as simple as a mall.

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VOICES

up to the plate, put your life on the line and get them out. Elliot Lake is less than an eight-hour drive from Toronto. How come it took days to get a decent crane to a modern city that’s just north of the Trans-Canada Highway? The only thing that would make the Algo Centre Mall disaster worse is if we somehow passed it all off as an unfortunate tragedy, failing to recognize it as a symptom of the systemic problem that it is. Sadly, Canada is on the downgrade technically, professionally and morally. I’ve lived long enough to see it plainly. I’m grieved and you should be, too. The Algo Centre Mall has important lessons to teach us. Let’s recognize that technical disasters, lapsed professionalism and cowardice hiding behind safety standards have no place in a Canada that so many died to keep free. Let’s also make sure we keep reminding ourselves what it means to be a hero. His Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada said it best at an awards ceremony honouring 44 brave, non-professional Canadian heroes in May 2011. "It is real-life heroes, the ones who rush headlong into danger with nothing but their wits, ingenuity and determination who truly make a difference.” Can we still find enough capable, handson leaders in this country who say “amen” to that, then roll up their sleeves and prevail? I sure hope so. Renowned home improvement journalist Steve Maxwell is the tools editor of Canadian Contractor.

“

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How come it took days to get a decent crane to a city that's just north of the Trans-Canada Highway?

“

With engineers like the ones signing off on the Algo Centre Mall, who needs terrorist's bombs? The third and possibly most disappointing thing in the Algo Mall disaster is how critical leadership lost its courage in Elliot Lake – the kind of courage that Canada used to have in spades. That’s strike number three. When the roof on any simple public build in Canada caves in, it’s a shocking tragedy. That sort of thing doesn’t happen in decent countries. When rescuers are called off by officials, while victims are known to be alive in the rubble, it’s a shameful thing indeed. What’s even worse is when this kind of action is justified publicly by rescue professionals. And it has been, more than once. What can you say when the pros withdraw while people die a slow, ugly death in an unstable situation because, in the words of one rescue worker, “You cannot allow yourself to get caught up in the desire to do very good things at the serious risk of the people that are doing the work"? Yikes! Really? So the Algo Centre Mall disaster zone was highly unstable. When was the last time anyone had the luxury of dealing with a stable, safe disaster site? And exactly how does a person come to choose a career as a professional rescue worker while also expecting they should avoid “serious risk”? We don’t seem to make heroes like we used to, and that begs a sobering question. When did we stop raising the kind of Canadian leaders who rallied the troops up Vimy Ridge in 1917? When did Canada stop raising 19- and 20-year-olds capable of flying bombers over the English Channel, beating back the most dangerous regime in history in the 1940s? Who sold us the rubbish that serious risk is bigger than the ingenuity, determination and urgency of the best-trained professionals Canada can muster? When did serious risk become grounds to stand back and let the helpless die? If there’s risk, reduce it. If there are people buried under tons of concrete, step

Steve Maxwell

VOICES

THE GOLDEN RULE ON SUBTRADES By Bruce MacKinnon The Golden Rule is not supposed to mean, “He who has the gold rules.” To a contractor, it should mean, “Treat your trades the way you would like to be treated.” Nothing destroys your credibility and the eventual outcome of your project faster than treating your trades with distain and abuse. It is shortsighted to do things that make your trades resent you. There are easier ways to save money than by crushing the spirit of your trades. The best way to save money is to pay your trades the going rate or higher. That’s right; pay them more, not less. You foster loyalty and, yes, better performance by making them feel appreciated. A trade or an employee will bend over backwards and do work for free here and there if they appreciate you. If you like their work, say so. A real compliment will go a long way to smoothing things over later if there happens to be a problem. If you don’t just

complain all the time, but let your guys know you think they do good work, they will go the extra mile for you to keep up their reputation. This isn’t about manipulation, but simply treating people the way you would like to be treated. We’ve all had customers that insist you “sharpen your pencil” before, during and after every job. And then only complain, never showing appreciation. You will grit your teeth and vow, “Never again.” And the job will suffer, costing your customer a lot more than money. So why do that to your trades? Why do that to yourself? This really is just common sense, even if it isn’t so common anymore. Bruce MacKinnon, a veteran painting contractor, is the editor of Pro Painter magazine (www.professionalpainter.ca) and a frequent contributor to Canadian Contractor.

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SITE NOTES

By Steve Payne Campaign launched to stop Ontario trades tax Tradespeople and construction firms across Ontario have joined forces in a campaign to shut down the fledgling Ontario College of Trades, whose proposal to levy fees on workers and their employers will amount to an $84 million tax grab, according to the Ontario Construction Employers Coalition. The lobby group represents employers would have more than 85,000 skilled tradespeople on their payrolls. The coalition has launched a website, www.stopthetradestax.ca, which it says will provide Ontarians with information on the college, campaign updates, and encourage Ontarians to write their MPP to call for the scapping of the College. “We believe the Ontario College of Trades will tax people out of the skilled trades and drive up costs for consumers at every turn,” says Sean Reid, the coalition’s chairperson. The College has challenged the $84 million number cited by the Coalition. It has said that its current fees proposal, if implemented, would cost roughly 500,000 Ontario workers and employers about $17 million in 2013 and $21 million in 2014. Under the proposal, fees for individual tradespeople

Swing-stage tragedy firm fined $200,000 for four deaths Metron construction, the company from whose swingstage four construction workers fell 13 storeys to their deaths in Toronto on Christmas Eve, 2009, when the device collapsed, was fined $200,000 after a lengthy trial. The company was convicted of criminal negligence causing death, although the owner of the firm, Joel Swartz, had seen his personal charges of criminal negligence dropped earlier in the proceedings. Instead, he pled guilt to contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act and was fined $90,000. The judgment against Metron marked the first

Print 4, 2012

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would range from $50 to $200, depending on their specific category. Employers would pay between $100 to $600, depending on the size of the company.

time that a construction company has been convicted of criminal negligence causing death under the Ontario Criminal Code. Metron and the owner will also be required to pay a “victim surcharge” of $52,500. Justice Robert Bigelow said the fines were intended to send a message that workplace safety violations were a serious issue. But Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan said the ruling was “disgraceful.” “It says that a worker’s life is worth no more than $50,000,” Ryan said. “Many bad bosses across the province will simply chalk it up as the cost of doing business.”

SITE NOTES

Inspectors from WorkSafeBC, the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia, are currently hammering down on roofers and framers on wood frame construction sites who flout the province’s safety regulations. A six month inspection blitz that runs until November has so far imposed approximately $50,000 a month in fines on small residential construction companies and their workers, in some cases shutting down job sites until they come into compliance. WorkSafeBC regional director Al Johnson says workers who fail to comply have no excuses. “A number of them are up on the rooftop without any fall protection. They know they should be tied off and yet their fall protection is either in their truck or sitting in the ground by their lunchbox.” Johnson says practices like these have resulted in more than 1,000 injury claims and $25.6 million in compensation over the past four years. But he’s not putting all of the responsibility for this on the workers themselves. His inspectors are also eyeballing contracting firms to make sure their project plans have incorporated fall protection and other safety plans. “The worker needs to be following that plan, but just as importantly the supervisor needs to make sure they are following that. It’s a shared responsibility between the employer, the supervisor and the worker.” Johnson says reaction to the inspection blitz so far has been mixed. Many builders are very small operations “that can start up a business today and start working on a roof tomorrow,” he says. Some companies and workers may not be aware they are in non-compliance or even know that they must be registered with WorkSafeBC in order to operate. “So often our officers will pull everybody off the roof, tell them how to get registered with us and they can’t go to work again until they’re registered. We’re applying the same regulation and rigor to anybody we see on a rooftop.”

Inspectors will be working evenings and on weekends to make sure workers and their employers get the message. None of this, Johnson adds, is being done vindictively. “We just want workers up on the rooftop to be following the regulations. We want them to be safe.” David Godkin

“

We just want workers up on the rooftop to be following the regulations. We want them to be safe.

2651-CAN_C_03-12_3.375x4.875_v1.eps 3/7/2012 11:52:00 AM

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British Columbia inspectors on safety blitz

CMY

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COVER STORY

Pickering, Ont contractor John McLellan is one of the many pro builders who are providing accessibility renovation services.

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COVER STORY

Renovating for accessibility

As Canada's population rapidly ages, there's a booming business in home modifications for the elderly and disabled. By Steve Payne

Photo: Valeria Csizmadia

e doesn’t have to use his imagination to put himself in his clients' shoes. He’s seen, first-hand, the almost unliveable prison that an unmodified “ablebodied” house can become for the victim of a crippling accident or illness. Because when Pickering, Ont.-based general contractor John McLellan meets with a disabled client or their family to quote an accessibility renovation, as he has for the past 17 years, he can’t help but think about why he cares so much about

this particular type of work in the first place. “My Dad broke his neck diving into the wrong end of our backyard pool, right in front of me and my brother,” McLellan recalls. “I was just 13. We had to haul him out and give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He basically lived in Whitby General Hospital for the next 14 years – the rest of his life. In the years that followed, I watched him go through so much.” After years of therapy, John McLellan’s father still had to deal with endless indignities and frustrations in trying to

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The era of ”institutional looking” kitchens for the disabled are long gone. Today’s contractor can access a wide range of beautiful and elegant wheelchair accessible fixtures

do what able-bodied people do without thinking. Like going to the mall. “He had to make special arrangements to use the freight elevator to get into the local department store,” McLellan says. “That’s just one example.” “Back then, it was a different world for people in wheelchairs. Too many of them were almost invisible compared with today, because they just couldn’t get around. The whole “accessibility” movement hadn’t gathered speed and a lot of disabled people stayed home. Society sort of forgot about them.”

On a mission He didn’t know it at the time, but that nightmarish shock in the family’s sunny backyard not only changed McLellan’s family life beyond all recognition, it set the course for his own mission in life. Today, at 42, owner of McLellan Contracting Inc., McLellan is one of the foremost accessibility renovators in the Greater Toronto Area, doing a significant chunk of his residential and commercial

Print 4, 2012

Photo: Donna Riddell

COVER STORY

business designing and building renovations for the disabled. He now has a combined workforce of over 40 contractors and subtrades – either employees or trades who have “employee status,” i.e., they work more than 50 per cent of their hours for McLellan’s firm. He has built a big business as a general contractor and the accessibility portion of it continues to grow by leaps and bound. It’s not just the victims of crippling accidents and injuries, like John McLellan’s father, who need this type of contractor to help them restore access to a “normal” life in their own homes. As the baby boom generation of Canadians enters old age, millions of them need, or soon will need, wheelchair ramps, porch lifts, stair lifts, elevators, and completely redesigned kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and living rooms to allow them to avoid what many people consider the ultimate indignity – assisted living in a nursing or retirement home. The market for this type of renovation is rapidly growing, both because of these changing demographics and because of public awareness.

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COVER STORY

necessary modifications done. Or people who don’t have the money, can get funding – at least partial funding. It’s all a question of educating yourself.”

”Wheel under” sinks and cooktops are an essential element in an accessible kitchen renovation.

As companies like McLellan Contracting get more publicity – and plaudits – for their disability accessibility projects, more and more people are looking for their services. Asked about the size of the business opportunity for renovators, McLellan spreads his arms wide and punches out his words: “It’s huge. Huge. It’s massive. Because we’ve got this whole baby boomer generation and, as they enter old age, they don’t want to be limited in their movements like their parents generation. They don’t want to go into a [nursing] home; they want to stay in their own home. And many of them have the money, fortunately, to be able to do that, to get the

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Photo: Donna Riddell

Getting the right training It’s not just a question of educating the public about the vast range of products that are now available to retrofit a standard house for a wheelchairbound occupant, it’s a question, McLellan says, of educating the contractor about the best methods, practices and codes. To that end, McLellan is an instructor with CARAHS (Canadian Association of Renovators and Home Services), which offers a course based in the Toronto area that leads to “Bronze Level” certification in residential accessibility renovation. A commercial and institutional construction course is also under development by CARAHS. (For more information, visit www.carahs.org. The next course, in Toronto, takes place Sept. 19). Asked how a contractor who is not doing this type of business, or has only dabbled in it, can really develop his or her skills in this area, McLellan says that the CARAHS course is a great idea, but that contractors who don’t have a course like this in their region of Canada can at least find all the technical information they need in national and provincial building codes. “The Ontario Building Code has a complete section devoted to accessibility renovations,” McLellan says. And some of the changes to the code, which will continue to ramp up, show what a tremendous business opportunity this sector can become for an entrepreneurial and compassionate builder. “The standard wheelchair ramp gradient, right now, is 1 in 12,” John points out. “Which means six inches in height for every six feet of ramp length. But there is talk of moving that to 1 in 20. So the space needed for a wheelchair ramp is going to almost double. Right now, as a rule of thumb, if you have to go higher than 20 inches, a porch lift is going to be less expensive than a ramp. When it goes to 1 in

COVER STORY

One disabled resident’s perspective

oward Kyle is confined to a wheelchair after an accident left him as a quadriplegic. After the accident, he lived in an unmodified home for eight years while he was married and had a son living at home. Kyle did not want to expose his son to institutional life. But when the marriage didn’t work out for him, Kyle had to

move back into a governmentassisted living facility. “I couldn’t get into the kitchen and the halls were so tight I was bumping into everything,” Kyle says. “It was really cramped and awkward to get into the bedroom and the bathroom” (which took four turns to get into). Now, Kyle is fortunate enough to live in a provincially funded home, the Access Better Living Supportive Housing Complex in Timmins, Ont. “All of these little devices (bars, counters and power doors) are important to me because it means I can live independently, or more

20, then a porch lift is going to be the more economical solution at just one foot in height. So the awareness and use of porch lifts is going to go up a lot. “ McLellan has become an expert on getting funding for accessibility renovations. He particularly applauds the work of the March of Dimes, which he works with extensively, for providing funding and for connecting contractors with families in need. But he says there are many sources of funding, and families looking for assistance should be prepared to apply “to as many places as they can.” “Applying to multiple sources of funding is important,” McLellan says. “I’ve seen a family get $25,000 in total funds from about six different sources. In particular, there is a lot of funding for disabled children and their families, which is terrific, but the money is there if you get connected with the right sources of information.” Organizations like the March of Dimes typically have rigorous standards. “You have to be a

so. I am now able to do some of my own daily housekeeping” Kyle says. “The extra (hall and bathroom) space makes me feel more free than in a regular building, since I can access the outside and almost every corner of every room in my apartment.” Kyle’s kitchen was built for a manual chair and is still not modified to his electric wheelchair, meaning he has to slide in sideways to do what he needs to do. “My kitchen is a reminder of just how difficult it could be without any accessibility features.” Bruce MacKinnon

thoroughly professional, credible, contractor with an extensive track record to get on their bid list,” McLellan says. “Because they want to work with guys who are thoroughly versed in this very specific type of construction.”

Accessibility products with style The public generally has an outdated impression of the types of products that an accessibility renovator can install in a disabled customer’s home, McLellan says. “There are so many good products out there with stylish designs that don’t have that 'institutional' look to them, any more," he says. "People don’t want to have an institutional-looking bathroom in their home. They want it to look great as well as functional for a disabled person.” McLellan points to the product range of one of his favorite equipment supplies, Durham Medical, as a case in point. “There is style now, not just function. You don’t want to live in a place that looks like a hospital. And you don’t have to.” cc

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COVER STORY

Accessible renovations:

a 3 minute primer By David Godkin Ramps –The ideal wheelchair ramp, says Donna Riddell of Artistry Design Group in Victoria, B.C., will slope up very gradually to no more than foot above ground. But here’s the problem: entrances to many homes can be as high as four feet. “You’re going to have a run, then a landing, and then come around gradually with another grade,” says Riddell. Longer ramps require that landing so the occupant of the wheelchair can rest; where the ramp landing changes direction or incorporates a turn, it should be at least 60” x 60” to provide appropriate maneuvering space to make the turn. A ramp width of 36” will accommodate most wheelchairs and walkers, but should be equipped with railings on both sides if the ramp run rises more than 6 inches or has a horizontal projection greater than 72 inches. Where the slope rises and horizontal projects are lower, instead of rails consider building barriers (similar to curbs) on both sides of the ramp to prevent the wheelchair from going over the edge. Doors and hallways – Interior doors can sometimes narrow from the standard 36 inches to 30 and 26 inches, a real encumbrance for disabled people, says Mike Kazenbroot of Island Oasis in Ladysmith, B.C. “You need to remember that most of the time you’re not dealing with someone on two legs. Someone in a wheelchair has to have room to enter the room and turn around to close the door.” Threefoot doors and a landing inside the doorway large enough to turn around are especially key in high usage areas like the bathroom and kitchen, adds Riddell. “Imagine someone going into a conventional kitchen and using multiple back and forth movements to turn around. That can be very tiring.” Rule of thumb: always make sure the person can perform at least one full wheelchair turn wherever they are in their home. Kitchen and bath – Most of us belly up to the kitchen stove or bathroom sink with ease. But imagine reaching across a hot stove with two feet of wheelchair in front of you. 22

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“We change the heights of the cabinetry and then create specific access points where the wheelchair can slide underneath the countertop,” says Kazenbroot. For her part, Riddell recommends installing a cook top and wall oven instead of a full range. Like the stove, kitchen and bathroom sinks should be built so the wheelchair slides inside, she adds. “The pipes are sometimes hot so you also want to either insulate those pipes or build a removable panel to protect their legs.” Windows and electrical – In the average home electrical plugs are too low and electrical switches too high for someone in a wheelchair, says Riddell. Lowering switches and installing plugs 18 inches off the floor means a wheelchair occupant needn’t reach beyond their comfort level and helps to prevents falls from the chair, a common occurrence for many disabled people. Ditto for reachable and easy-to-open windows, says Kazenbroot. “We normally put in casement windows, which is a crank style instead of a sliding window. The window and its locking mechanism are easier to get at. You need to build them low enough so that people can reach them to open and close them.” A window built within one foot of the floor makes for “a great line of sight view.” It’s not all about wheelchairs While most of the work you’ll do will revolve around wheelchair access, other disabilities may need attention too. Many visually impaired people, for example, lack depth perception, in which case color contrasting tiles and white grab bars help to distinguish these bathroom elements. A visually impaired person approaching a staircase also benefits from hand rails that extend about a foot before the actual staircase begins so the person knows they’re about to encounter that first step. People with hearing disabilities often read lips in order to communicate. A well lit room, especially one with a skylight, makes this much easier, while low CFM fans reduce background noise for those with moderate to severe hearing loss. Meantime, people with severe arthritis benefit from single lever faucets and door openers and deep hole inserts rather than knobs on cabinets and kitchen drawers. A really important tip: Before installing grab bars in the shower stall ask the client if one hand is weaker than other. If so, make sure a grab bar is within easy reach of that hand. cc

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CONTRACTOR U

Are you running your renovation business…

or is it running you? If you are feeling overwhelmed by the demands of running your contracting ﬁrm, it’s time to take a long, hard look at your systems. By Mike Draper

often hear contractors say they are overworked and that they feel the need to do everything themselves since nobody else will do it as well as them. And with the owner’s name typically being part of the company name, many owners feel the need to be involved in every single aspect of a project. It is at this point that the company’s growth stagnates, no matter how many hours the contractor puts into the business. I see this pattern all the time. The bottom line is that most contractors’ businesses do not have enough systems in place to enable that business to expand. With the current level of systems, the business has reached its peak. There are many reasons why contractors don’t implement more systems. It does take time. It typically takes longer to document a system or process, so that someone else can easily do it, than it does to just do it yourself, today. But the downside of this approach is that you have to keep doing the same task over and over because you haven’t trained someone else to do it.

Systemizing to remove inefficiencies Systemizing a business is not to make it boring. Rather, it is about removing inefficiencies and maximizing your output.

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Take a look at this example: When a call comes in for insurance work, the contractor has to respond immediately and get a quote out very quickly, usually within 24-48 hours. The quotation must be accurate, very detailed and with full disclosure of the scope of the work to be performed, whether it is a $10,000 or $100,000 repair. How can anyone do it so quickly? Well, the answer is to have a system that you follow every time. You might argue that each renovation project is utterly unique and that there is no way to follow a standard model. Well, the work will always vary, but the process or system you follow, from the time that you receive a lead until you deposit the last cheque, can be exactly the same for every project.

Systemizing your quotes Developing a quoting system, or using one of the industry available quoting systems, will make the quoting process a whole lot easier for you. You will have a standard sequence to go through to make sure you have

CONTRACTOR U

included all the components of a renovation, including the time each step should take to complete, and the cost of each step. Imagine being able to create a professional-looking, detailed quotation on every job you bid, even for the smaller quotes. So why don’t most renovation contractors use a computerized estimating system? Typically because it takes time to learn. But it’s worth spending more time, as you learn the new system, on your first few quotes, to save more than half the time on all subsequent quotes.

Systemizing phone calls The idea behind systems is to document the work to be done in such a way that the lowest-level employee in the company can perform the task. Documenting how people in your firm should answer the phone is a great example of the benefits of systemizing. If you ask three people at your company to write down how they answer the phone, you may get something like the following:

point. If your cellphone number is given out, you might be interrupted in a client meeting and they will start calling your cell phone directly in the future. In each case, there is going to be follow-up work on your part and a high probability of telephone tag. With Person #3’s response, it not only gives a positive impression, but Person #3 may be able to take care of the matter without you ever having to take the call. So the systemizing of how your business’s phone is answered takes out work and improves efficiency. With respect to messages, do you handle them the same way every time? Do you follow up each message within 2 hours of it being left on your voicemail? How often do you actually not return the call because you forgot, or you lost the piece of paper you wrote it on? Whatever the case, phone answering is a good place to start to introduce simple systems into your business. For an example of a telephone answering process, visit www.renovantage.com/telephone/process.

Typical systems that every contractor needs Step 1: Answering the phone greeting Person #1: “Jones Contracting.” Person #2: “Good morning/afternoon. Jones Contracting.” Person #3: “Good morning/afternoon. Jones Contracting. This is Mary. How can I help you? Step 2: Caller asks for the owner, Bill Jones Person #1: “He’s not here.” Person #2: “He’s not here. Can I take a message? Or would you like his voicemail? His cellphone? Person #3: “I’m sorry, he’s in the field right now. Can I help you?” Now let’s look at these various responses. The responses from Person #1, in both cases, sound lazy. Unfortunately, you only get one chance to make a positive first impression. The responses from Person #2 are clearly better. But look what happens next. If Person #2 takes that message, it has to be written down and communicated somehow. If transferred to voicemail, you will have to access the voicemail and retrieve it at some

• Marketing: Home shows, website, jobsite signage and perimeter marketing, vehicle signage, brochures, employee uniforms • Sales process: Lead follow-up, qualification, estimating, proposal generation, conversion strategy, Unique Selling Proposition • Sales or production turnover system: Without this, the salesperson, typically the owner, has to be involved in every step going forward • Project pre-planning and scheduling: Hiring subtrades, client decision list and timing • Project start-up: Ordering materials, tools/equipment needed on site, Ground Rules Meeting, safety station and emergency procedures, contact numbers • Production: Change orders, clients communications, employee timekeeping and reporting • Safety training

Mike Draper is a business coach for Renovantage (www.renovantage.ca) and a frequent contributor to Canadian Contractor

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THE CREATIVE EYE

Mixing textures

Design-build modernist homes that blend the old and the new

BUNGALOW REBUILD ETOBICOKE, ONTARIO ANACLETO DESIGN When interior designers and homebuilders Gerry and Lindsey Anacleto began the complete rebuild of a typical 1950s-style suburban brick bungalow in the suburbs of Toronto, they were faced with the interesting challenge of blending a modernist design into an older neighbourhood. The keys to the successful integration of the house into the streetscape, Gerry says, are the clean lines, modest scale, and simplicity of form. The brick area on the left is a new addition. It was intentionally set back so as to not give the impression of an oversized home. “The flat roof aesthetically appears to decrease the size of the home because of the lack of height,” he explains. “The home isn’t pretending to be a mansion, a country home, or anything else for that matter. It is a basic ‘form follows function’ solution and this is what it is often admired for.”

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THE CREATIVE EYE

Photos: Larry Arnal

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THE CREATIVE EYE

REBUILD OF PRIVATE HOME TORONTO, ONTARIO (SOUTH KINGSWAY) LINEBOX ARCHITECTS Those slot windows you see in this stunning home in the affluent South Kingsway area of Toronto’s west end are part of the signature style of architect Andrew Reeves. This home was rebuilt after tearing the existing, traditional structure down to the basement walls. “This project was built on the side of a giant cliff with, as you can see, a beautiful view out the back,” Reeves says. “Those (slot} windows on the side cast very sharp shadows throughout the house that are constantly changing.” It’s a beautiful effect. And that shower you see there, upstairs? It has a trademark Reeves window in the side so the occupant can watch the trees wave as the water cascades. How cool is that?

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THE CREATIVE EYE

Photos: Larry Arnal

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THE CREATIVE EYE

BUNGALOW REBUILD EAST YORK, ONTARIO UPSIDE DEVELOPMENT Design-builder Rambod Nasrin built this home in East York, a late 1940s suburb of Toronto, on spec. It takes the place of a modest, traditional postwar bungalow. It’s a striking example of how that most traditional of Canadian building materials, British Columbia cedar, works so well with modernist designs. “It took eight months to research and obtain that cedar,” Nasrin says. “A lot of people don’t understand wood. They go with conservative stucco. But this is a very dynamic product. To tie the design into the neigbourhood we went with that old red brick, which works so well with the red of the cedar.” Inside, it’s open concept on the ground floor and Andrew Reeves, the architect of the previous page, did a spectacular job on the slot windows.

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THE CREATIVE EYE

Photos: Larry Arnal

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PROFIT

Getting

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By Bruce MacKinnon

s a contractor, getting yourself paid on time starts at the beginning of your job, not at the end. It starts, in fact, with a tight contract. The first thing in that contract should be a stipulation of the basic structure of the agreement, laying out the work to be done and specifying that anything else is an extra that is subject to a contract on its own. When you believe you are done, and ready to ask for payment, you have to be sure that, in fact, all of the basic work is done. The space has to be at least livable, says Shelby Whittick, a paralegal in Oshawa, Ont. who focuses her business on contracts, receivables and collections.

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you collect later if it comes to to refuse to work for some It is a matter of liability. that. Good fences make good prospective customers who give “Where the client cannot use the neighbors." you a “sixth sense” that they space, or the item, the contractor Don’t be overconfident that may not be honest, creditworthy, is going to have a problem the law is on your side. Because, or properly financed. “Not every collecting,” Whittick says. “For if you do have to go to small potential client has to be your example, you can’t leave the claims court to enforce payment, client,” Whittick says. “If you living space with no electricity, be aware that the rules have sense something isn’t right, in or have the plumbing leaking, changed in favour of deadbeats. advance, run.” In almost all if the contractor dealt with these The new maximum time limit to cases, deadbeat clients will areas, even if the customer has collect through the courts what trigger negative emotions been a pain or is owing to you is two years from your very first meeting is abusive.” since the last payment. It used with them. Even if you are dealing to be six years. So if someone with a clearly unreasonable is determined not to pay, the client, you can’t just walk out “Some people just have best way to collect is to try to on the job if you expect to be paid, Whittick to be chased, so prepare to make collect minimal amounts periodically to keep says. “You, as the a payment plan and, if you can, them on the hook. Even contractor, have to ten dollars here or there live with the terms of build in an allowance for court keeps resetting the clock the agreement as well,” and restarting the limitation she says. “It is possible to as a last resort.” period and it also nurtures your walk away from the job if the initial relationship by making Sending signals to place is livable, the electricity that client feel accountable for prospective customers, up is on and the plumbing is done the debt. front, that you are running a and the walls are painted. Only Another option, if the client serious business, is a good idea, then do you have grounds to refuses to pay, is to use a Whittick counsels. You can start leave, even if you believe the collection service. Here again, with documentation. "Try to get customer is unreasonably having identifying information some identifying documents up and constantly unhappy with on your customer is critical. front, like a photocopy of their your work.” Yes, it may cost you about one driver’s licence and ensure Be proactive. Put language third of what you are owed, you have a contractual clause in the contract about late fees but is it better to have 100 stating this information may and collections and talk about percent of nothing or two be used for credit purposes. It it up front. Build a concrete thirds of something? helps later if you need to go for foundation and rapport with collection help,” she says. If this your client which will in turn feels uncomfortable, remember breed accountability. If you do Going to court the last time you checked into wind up in court, you can then Here is where you have to really a hotel. You were asked for ID, point to the agreement and the decide, "Is this really worth it?" If then, too. This simply lets the fact that the client was clearly you decide to go to small claims customer know that you have aware of the terms. court, and represent yourself, boundaries and that you will And avoiding deadbeat you may feel that you can save use their information to help clients means that you have yourself the costs of a lawyer ($250

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PROFIT

per hour and up) or a paralegal (beginning at $100 per hour, on average, depending on location). But be careful if you decide to do the legal work yourself. "Small claims court is for the layman who doesn’t know the system,” Whittick says. “But if you do go to court by yourself, you run the risk of making errors, which sets you back and slows down the process and could lessen the chances of you collecting your money. Whereas, with professional counsel, you are always going forward. A

good paralegal has the expertise and experience to weave through the process for you." And if you do decide to take your customer to small claims court, without legal counsel, you are the one responsible for serving the customer with the court papers, letting them know they are being sued. Or you could pay a process server to do this for you. Then, in many jurisdictions, you will have to wait 20 days to let them file a defense with the court. Before going to trial, there

will be a mandatory mediation meeting between you and your customer. It’s a chance for both parties to try to come to a resolution before appearing before the judge. The length of the legal process, the date of the trial, whether there will be delays, and your total investment of time, is very difficult to determine in advance. Only you can weigh the cost of all this – in terms of hours lost on other jobs and the stress and overall hassle – if you decide to proceed. cc

How I got stiffed for

$100,000 By Bruce MacKinnon I spent more than 20 years as a painting contractor and, over that time, I got hosed for close to $100,000. I am not proud of that. I am the first to admit I didn’t do things the right way.

money on a job, they simply forgot to pay me. Nice. Now, I know this looks bad on me, but let me explain. I didn’t think I could afford legal counsel. When I did sign contracts during my 20 years, I sometimes signed

I operated for many years on a handshake. Never once

very bad contracts (for me) and in some cases I got taken

did I get stiffed by a homeowner, not ever. I got whittled

to the cleaners because of it. These contractors, the

down after having done the work, yes, but I always got

bad apples, knew how to play with wording and they

paid. It was working as a subtrade where I ran into

weaseled out on technicalities. So foolishly, I decided

collection problems.

not to use contracts again.

With homeowners, I had great relationships.

Lose, lose. I should have gotten a legally formatted

Only once did I leave a homeowner’s place without

general contract and made sure I used it on every job. I

a recommendation and that was due to mismatched

should have walked away from iffy contractors. I should

colour samples, but that is a story for another time.

have taken some these people to court. So I learned, the

Where I went wrong with my fellow contractors,

hard way. In retrospect, I should have spent the time and

before I eventually wised up, was by not signing

money to learn the system and use it to my advantage.

contracts with them. There were guys who took

Thinking I was saving money and time, by taking

advantage of me. (You know who you are.) Some con-

shortcuts, I ended up costing myself a lot more in the

tractors, sad to say, if they decided they needed more

long run. Don’t let this happen to you.

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Making sense of

RValues Why insulation products with similar numbers perform so differently in the real world By Steve Maxwell

o figure this one: Two houses, side by side, identical floor plans, same orientation, both built by the same crew to the same code. House ‘A’ has R20 insulation in the walls and a respectable 2.6 ACH@50PA, yet it uses almost 400 per cent more energy than house ‘B’ during winter, even though house B only has R17 walls and a somewhat tighter 1.55 ACH@50PA. So what gives? These results came from a year-long study by Dr. Tony Shaw of Brock University as part of a National Research Council project ending in 2001, and they beg a question that more and more evidence points towards. “Why do R values so often fail to correspond to real-world energy performance?” You’re about to find out.

How energy moves

The R values on insulation products only describe a material's resistance to conductive heat transfer.

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To understand energy performance, you first need to realize that thermal energy moves in three different ways. Conduction is one way, and it happens when energy transfers between materials that are touching each other. Convection is another mechanism of energy transfer, and it happens as warmer and colder air circulates because of differences in density, moving energy around as it does. Radiation is the third method of energy transfer and it needs neither physical contact nor air movement to happen. The energy of the sun travels through millions of miles of empty space and warms the entire globe by radiant transfer alone. So why am I telling you all this? Because different methods of energy transfer are part of the reason why R values

BUILD

R Zero Yet Worth , A Lot Rad

never explain the whole energy efficiency story. Even the 2011 National Energy Code Book (NECB) does not require insulation to be tested for resistance to radiation, convection or air infiltration. The R values you see on insulation products everywhere only describe a material’s resistance to conductive heat transfer – as if that’s all there is – and the experiences of a drywaller friend of mine named Pete illustrates why this matters.

Energy realities Pete’s the best drywaller I know, and very diligent. That’s why he always brings a broom with him on jobs during winter. “If it’s been cold and windy, the vapour barrier on wood frame walls often looks like the inside of an ice palace,” explains Pete. “I use the broom to knock ice off the vapour barrier before putting up board.” So how could the “warm side” of brand new, codecompliant walls stuffed with R20 batts get so cold that drywall is the only thing hiding the frost? And while you’re wondering, how does a 1”-thick sheet of extruded polystyrene foam with a measly R5 rating feel like it’s warmed by a heater when you put your bare hand on it outside on a cold day? Then there’s the mystery of why an R17 walls kicks the butt of R20 walls in a scientifically analyzed energy show-down? The answer to all these questions comes down to the difference between lab analyzed R values and it doesn’t account for significant energy transfers happening in other ways.

iant barrier foil is a strik ing example of how R value s don’t tell th whole energ e y story. These shiny, alumin sheets have u m virtually no R value in themselves, a n d of yet they do wonders for homes more making comfortable . Installed in existing therm attics over al insulation, radiant barrie reflect summ rs help ertime attic h eat upwards, from rooms. away They reflect radiant energ quite effect y ively, yet th is useful quality isn’t communica ted by R values at all.

R Values explained Advertised R values stamped on insulation products come from lab analyzed samples, with these numbers generated in a way that measures conductive heat transfer only. In practice, this means that insulation samples are sealed in a box that eliminates all outside air movement through and around the insulation while the rate of heat transfer is measured. Fair enough. Trouble is, real-world house frames and attics never completely eliminate air movement, and this accounts for a large part of the differences discovered in the Brock University study. The effectiveness of open-cell insulations, in particular, are vulnerable to wide variation because air can and does move through them in real world conditions, and when

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this happens it triggers convective energy transfer in addition to conductive transfer. Closed cell insulations, by contrast, are more or less impervious to air movement, so the conductive energy transfer measured in the lab is all there ever is. Convective energy transfer doesn’t happen to any significant extent with closed-cell spray foams and rigid polystyrene foams, for instance, so lab numbers for these materials are the same as field numbers. The Brock test house with R20 walls used batt insulation in wood frame walls with a middle-ofwall temperature range of 5ºC to -6ºC, moving in lock-step with outdoor temperatures as they varied from 0ºC to -15ºC. The R17 house had foam-insulated SIP walls with a middle-of-wall temperature that remained a constant 15ºC (give or take a degree or so) with the same variation in outdoor temperatures. Why the difference between walls that have virtually the same R value? Because R value doesn’t account for convection, radiation and air infiltration. Need more proof that convection is an especially big factor inside wood frame wall cavities? Simply pull off the cover of any plug outlet on an exterior wall on a windy winter day and the drafts you feel

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coming out of the electrical box shows how much air moves through wall cavities.

Forces that drive convection Even on those occasions when wall cavities are sealed air tight, convection is still an issue. The bigger the temperature difference between inside and outside wall surfaces, the stronger the forces that drive convection of the air trapped inside the wall itself. In other words, the colder it is outside, the lower the effectiveness of convection-vulnerable insulation. Knowledge of the decreasing effectiveness of open-cell insulation has been known at least as far back as 1990, thanks to a roof performance study published by the Roof Research Center at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in Oak Ridge, Tennessee: “. . . the thermal resistance of loose-fill fiberglass insulation was found to decrease by a factor of two as the climate chamber temperature was lowered from 7ºC to -28ºC. The variation of thermal resistance follows the same trends as seen in previously published results.” You’ll find it a useful marketing tool as you explain to clients how to build for maximum efficiency. Another reason for the huge difference in sideby-side efficiency of homes with similar R numbers has to do with the realities of typical wood frame wall construction. According to a 2007 study, also published by the ORNL, “about 30% to 40% of stud wall cavities do not follow nominal framing spacing and require custom cutting and fitting of the batt insulation.” So, how many insulation contractors do you know who take the time to custom cut one batt out of every three to get the fit just right? Another issue is an unavoidable part of stud frame walls, even when they’re built perfectly. According to a 2002 study by the California Energy Commission, 27% of residential wall surfaces have framing members that span the entire thickness of walls. A similar study performed by ASHRAE in 2003 found an average framing factor of 25%. With wood coming in a slightly under R1 per inch, this means that fully one quarter of the surface

BUILD

A yearlong study at

recipe that was supposed to achieve an Energuide E80 performance Brock University delivered actual results in the E76 to E77 range. Sounds insignificant? has revealed why Not when you realize how the R Values on Energuide scale works. It’s a R values versus logarithmic scale – like the actual performance insulation don’t Richter scale for earthquakes – so The difference between the differences between rating stated insulation product R correspond to actual numbers increases exponentially values and measured energy performance after as they go up. An E86 house, for performance takes on special instance, uses 50% less energy than significance as energy-based installation an E80 house. Homeowners with E80 building code changes kick in houses built according to a prescriptive across Canada. In a growing number recipe are most likely getting performance of regions, builders are allowed to follow that’s costing them 29% more each year, for the 70, one of two ways to meet code. Houses can be built 80 or 100 years the house will be around. and individually tested to see if they meet energy One reason for the discrepancy between standards, or they can be built according to a expected and actual performance goes back to recipe, without testing. The assumption behind the the way theoretical Energuide performance is recipe approach is that if you build in a certain way predicted. It’s based on HOT2000 software which, – using insulation products with the right numbers once again, only considers conductive heat loss printed on the bag – E80 energy performance will and not convection and radiation. With current be achieved. So how true is this? measurement standards, testing is the only way A partnership between the City of Vancouver, the homeowners can be sure that an E80 home actually Greater Vancouver Homebuilders Association and the E3 EcoGroup set out to answer this question by delivers E80 performance. measuring the actual energy performance of 300 The whole idea of rating insulation by R values homes. On average, houses built according to a must have been a welcome improvement from the days when sawdust in wall cavities was topnotch technology. But today, homeowners expect a level of home energy performance that’s never been delivered before in large numbers and so does government. As the energy performance bar rises because of code changes and consumer expectations, we need an insulation rating system that tells all the useful facts at a glance, not just one of those facts. Besides being a technical issue, insulation ratings are also highly politicalwith powerful business sectors more than interested in keeping things as they are. While the rest of the world continues to be kept wondering why R values don’t correspond to actual energy performance, now you’ve got what it takes to understand things clearly and build better because of it. cc area of all exterior stud frame wall surfaces are only worth R6, even though everyone pretends they’re R20.

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ROXUL® INSULATION

Why choice renovators stand behind Roxul Insulation. Better fit. Fewer call-backs. More satisfied customers. When your customers demand quality, start with the better quality insulation. Fire-resistant and water repellant, Roxul insulation is easy to work with, cuts with a serrated knife and fits snug without sagging. Choose Roxul ComfortBatt™ for thermal insulation of exterior walls and attics, and Roxul Safe‘n’Sound™ for soundproofing interior walls and ceilings to make your next renovation professional grade. TM

ROX-2355_0312

Available at

www.roxul.com

ROX2355

CLIENT: Roxul

DOC SIZE: 7.875" x 10.75"

START DATE: 10/26/11

Colours

FINAL ART APPROVAL INITIALS & DATE

STUFF WE LIKE / Products

JLKLJI

1. DEWALT

2. STANLEY

3. IRWIN

4. MILWAUKEE

DEWALT’s new snap-off knives and blades feature carbide technology. They provide heavy users with durability when cutting materials that prove challenging for other blades.

The new Stanley FatMax 25-foot magnetic tape is designed for professional users. The powerful magnet has a holding force of up to 4 pounds. Metric version also available.

This Universal Handsaw offers tradesmen coarsecut speed with a fine cut finish. The company says it is “always fast, never in a bind,” and that it cuts three times faster than traditional tooth handsaws.

Milwaukee has introduced the industry’s first 6 in 1 combination and long nose pliers. Can be used as standard pliers or for reaming pipe, cutting or stripping wire and making loops.

irwin.com

milwaukeetool.com

stanleyhandtools.ca

dewalt.com

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STUFF WE LIKE / Products

7 8

Win me! see pg. 50

5. STANLEY

6. MILWAUKEE

7. MILWAUKEE

8 IRWIN

The new Stanley dual color squares, available in 7 inches and 12 inches, feature an extra thick ABS plastic body that holds up to heavy-duty use. They double as a saw guide for versatility.

Introducing snips with, the company says, ten times longer life. There are six new snips in this line that are made of corrosionresistant metal. Available in straight-, right- and leftcutting (shown).

These are the industry’s first 6 in 1 Lineman’s Pliers. Can be used for reaming pipe, cutting bolts, pulling fish tape, pulling nails, cuttings nails and for, of course, standard plier applications.

IRWIN’s new range of levels were developed after five extensive rounds of research with tradesmen over a two year period. They are exceptionally rugged. Shown is the 24 inch box beam level.

stanleyhandtools.ca

milwaukeetool.com

irwin.com

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THE MECHANICAL ROOM

HRVs Heat recovery ventilators

“The lungs of a new home or renovation project” By Gord Cooke

t has been just over 30 years ago since the first air-to-air heat exchangers manufactured in North America started to appear in residential applications. It was really the start of the R-2000 energy efficient housing program in 1982 that helped the fledgling industry take hold. Those very energy-efficient houses needed strict measures to control unwanted air leakage. So the first heat exchangers provided a way to carefully control air flows mechanically. Over the past 30 years, this predominately Canadian technology has been refined in step with the extensive, comprehensive building science research done by CMHC and Natural Resources Canada and others. This research, along with the initiatives of innovative Canadian builders, has empowered the industry to adopt ever higher levels of energy efficiency into their standard building practices and finally into building codes. As of January 2012, most provinces have energy efficiency requirements in their building codes that either match or exceed the original R-2000 levels. Thus, what is now known as heat recovery ventilation (HRV) technology has become a valuable contributor to the improved health, safety, durability, comfort and energy efficiency of Canadian homes. Let’s look at some of the essential elements for successful application of this technology in both new and existing homes.

How HRVs work HRVs are, in essence, two fans in a box, one fan

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exhausting out stale air, the other bringing in fresh air from outside. Historically these fans were only considered necessary in homes that were tightly air-sealed. Ongoing research has demonstrated that the need for controlled ventilation is less a function of the air tightness of walls and attics and more about how often homeowners open windows. That is, unwanted small holes in the building envelope were never a reliable source of fresh air. It was really the regular opening of windows that allowed homeowners to control air quality. Of course, with rising energy costs, noise, security and outdoor air quality issues, few people in either new or existing houses leave windows open long enough to provide adequate fresh air. That is why the National Building Code and all provincial codes have called for builders to include the capacity for continuous mechanical ventilation since at least 1995. An HRV enhances the ventilation function by allowing much better control of air quantities, filtration of the incoming air and the recovery of the waste energy from the exhaust air stream to preheat the fresh air in winter or precool it in summer. This is why HRVs are a better choice than operable windows in all houses, new or old, tight or loose. They offer better control, lower noise levels, fresh filtered air on demand - and up to 80 per cent in energy savings. The best way to describe an HRV, to a homeowner or a client, is that they are “fresh air

THE MECHANICAL ROOM

machines,â&#x20AC;? the lungs for a house that they can choose to run as often as they would like to breathe fresh air into their home, which is pretty much all the time. HRVs are helpful in every new house and every renovation project, no matter how tight the house is.

Codes provide guidance In applying the technology, the first thing a professional HVAC contractor does is determine the amount of ventilation that is needed or desired. Codes provide great guidance on this. Ventilation is for people, so codes in Canada require, as a minimum, the capacity for 15 cubic feet per minute (CFM) per person on a continuous basis. To determine the number of people likely to be living in a home, a bedroom count is done and ventilation rates are tied to the number of bedrooms plus one. Thus, a three-bedroom house needs a capacity of at least 60 CFM (4 x 15 CFM). More capacity may be required if the HRV is also used to exhaust air directly from bathrooms (where 50 CFM per bathroom on an intermittent basis is usually

required) or from kitchens (where 60 to 100 CFM per kitchen is a typical code requirement). Fortunately, there is an independent test standard for HRVs and any legitimate product will have performance testing done and be listed with the Home Ventilation Institute (HVI). There are currently about 200 HRV models listed on the product directory found at www.hvi.org. The second task is to pick the efficiency and recovery technology desired. HRVs range in efficiency from about 50 per cent to just over 80 per cent. Again, this can be selected from the HVI listing. Typically, the more efficient a unit is, the more expensive it is and the larger physically it is, to accommodate bigger heat exchangers. From the lowest efficiency units to the highest efficiency is usually just a few hundred dollars in added cost. A more technical decision is whether to use a traditional heat recovery ventilation technology or the enhanced â&#x20AC;&#x153;energyâ&#x20AC;? recovery technology or ERV. ERVs help maintain a better moisture balance in buildings without compromising ventilation rates or operation schedules. They have the ability to

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THE MECHANICAL ROOM

recover moisture across the heat exchange media. For example, on a southern Ontario summer day, nearly half of the cooling load associated with ventilation is latent load (the moisture in the air). An ERV would expel as much as 60 per cent of this moisture back outside, reducing cooling loads and increasing comfort. Similarly, they are able to help avoid over-drying in winter by allowing some of the indoor moisture to be recovered into the fresh air stream. So in applications with significant cooling loads or in older homes that are already too dry, ERVs are an excellent choice. With HRVs and ERVs there are great new control options that automatically adjust humidity levels based on outside temperatures, allowing homeowners to enjoy a more consistent and appropriate delivery of fresh air while maintaining a better moisture balance in their home. One of the best parts of these new controls is that they are often able to display outside temperatures , which means that homeowners tend to “visit” the control more often and thus gain a better appreciation for the operation and value of the mechanical lungs for their home.

Installation hints Lastly, a few quick notes on installation hints. It may seem obvious that careful consideration of the outdoor air intake location is important. Certainly, codes spell out appropriate distances from exhaust vents of one to two metres in residential applications. Other practical concerns like snow depths, avoidance of driveways, and easy access to the mechanical room must be considered when choosing the location for the intake and exhaust hoods needed for HRVs or ERVs. This can be tricky in existing houses but it is almost always possible to vent the units to ensure fresh air for homeowners. Another installation consideration to think about is the distribution or delivery of fresh air and the exhaust of stale air. In an ideal scenario, exhaust vents would be located in bathrooms

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and kitchens, either eliminating the need for separate exhaust fans or more typically, simply enhancing the operation of good quiet intermittent fans, with a small quantity of continuous exhaust from the HRV or ERV. Fresh air delivery directly to bedrooms would be the ideal solution in high performance homes. In practice, however, fresh air delivery is usually done by ducting the fresh air supply into the return side of the furnace and allowing the furnace fan to deliver air to all areas of the house. In the simplest applications, rather than running exhaust ducts to bathrooms and kitchens, the exhaust air is taken from the return air of the furnace, upstream of the supply duct. This creates a very simple installation loop than can be accomplished in just about any house with a forced air heating system. Of course, to avoid short cycling, the furnace fan would have to run whenever the HRV or ERV was on, and individual bathroom and kitchen fans would be needed to ensure adequate odour and moisture control in these specific rooms.

Homeowners are ready So if heat recovery ventilation has not been part of your normal construction project specifications, it is time to recalibrate your thinking. For most provinces in Canada, building codes either require their use or at least strongly encourage them in new buildings. Homeowners are ready for a conversation about the delivery of fresh, filtered air to improve the quality of the air they breathe and the industry is ready with over 200 performance tested, cost effective, reliable products with great new controls to serve your customer’s needs. cc

Gord Cooke, president of Building Knowledge Canada, is a professional engineer, industry trainer and building science consultant. Gord can be reached at gord@buildingknowledge.ca.

Unleash Your Bulldog Trusted, reliable, tough. Bosch has the hardest-hitting hammers and hammer carbide bits. Improved Bulldog bits are 20% faster; new solid carbide-head bits deliver 4Ă&#x2014; life in concrete with rebar. Now thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bulldog tough. Better Accessories. Better Results.

Bulldog is a trademark of Robert Bosch Tool Corporation.

GUESS THE CHEQUE

Win me!

Email us with the cost of the job below & win a level. email spayne@canadiancontractor.ca

The IRWIN 2550 box beam level. It’s accurate, rugged framed, and with a continuous edge for scribing complete and accurate lines anywhere. It includes Irwin’s Plumb Site feature, which provides dual viewing from awkward angles. Embedded earth magnets allow for hands-free use.

What did they pay? GARAGE FOUNDATION Paul Chandler, president of Chandler Renovations in Toronto, says this customer is a skilled DIYer who wants to build the new garage himself, but didn’t want to do the heavy work of digging, regrading, forming and concrete pouring for the foundation. What you see here is the extent of Chandler’s commitment. This foundation is about 20 ft. x 20 ft. Chandler dug out to foundation depth around the perimeter, formed it, and provided a 4-6 inch concrete slab with four inches of gravel underneath. He also stripped and regraded the lawn (an area approximately 600 sq. ft.) for the new driveway and placed some screenings in preparation for the asphalt. Once he strips the forms, he’s done and the rest is up to the homeowner, he says. So, what do you think this foundation and driveway grading cost the homeowner? Chandler notes that he took the job in part to keep a few of his guys busy while waiting for another, larger job, so the price is slightly discounted. Send your best estimate and if you are one of three closest to the real cost, you will win the Irwin level you see above.

So, what did they pay? Email spayne@canadiancontractor.ca to send in your answer. Everyone that responds gets a subscription to Canadian Contractor’s weekly e-newsletter and the three respondents that come closest to the exact cost will win a very cool Irwin level.

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Last month's winners 1. Web Insulation Ltd. 2. Walter Zielke 3. Nicole Aben

Can any other underlayment do all this? Creates an air gap so concrete can breathe Provides a complete vapor seal (OSB or plywood not exposed to concrete)

High tech foam for cushioned comfort Anti bacterial foam mitigates mold growth No clicking sound when you walk on it 8,000 lbs/sq.ft compressive strength! Only one tool required to cut membrane a utility knife Does not de-laminate like 2’x2’ boards with dimpled sheet

t Dolayna’ or

flo ment base out it! with

Available at

www.dmxplastics.com

T:8.125” S:7”

S:10”

HDC_M_12_125_B.indd 1

Quality tool rentals for every job. If you need a heavy-duty tool to finish your project, whether it’s for the long or short term, check out The Home Depot’s Tool Rental Centre. With hundreds of brand name professional-grade tools, it’s like adding an affordable extension to your toolbox. And because our Tool Rental Centres are located at every Home Depot in Canada and have the same hours of operation, you can buy your materials and rent our tools all in one trip. View the selection online at homedepot.ca/toolrental

7/5/12 5:41 PM

T:10.875”

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