Can You Retire?
Can You Franchise?
Time For New Wheels?
page 20
page 26
page 40
Selling Your Reno Firm
Blair McDaniel’s Alair Homes
CANADIAN
Our Annual Trucks Guide
THE MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL RENOVATORS AND CUSTOM HOMEBUILDERS
CROSSOVER
CONSTRUCTION Commercial-quality materials in a residential setting page 32
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.ca
Introducing the Sprinter 4x4. Starting at $49,900.* Sometimes getting to the job site is work itself. That’s why we’re introducing Canada’s only 4-wheel drive commercial van — the Sprinter 4x4. Activated at the push of a button, the Sprinter 4x4 uses the 4ETS feature to electronically control individual wheels, giving these cargo vans some serious ground-gripping power when you need it. See what it’s made of at Sprinter4x4.ca.
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©2014 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. *National MSRP is shown and is intended for information purposes only. Prices do not include taxes, levies, fees, freight and delivery charges, insurance and licence fees, as well as any other products or services not listed that may be available to you through your selected Mercedes-Benz dealership. Vehicle prices subject to change. Dealer may sell for less. These prices do not apply in provinces with total/all-in pricing requirements. Please contact your local dealership directly for exact pricing details and total pricing applicable in those provinces.
CONTENTS
Cover
CONTENTS
features Dreaming of Cashing Out?
Crossover
Construction
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Have you ever thought about selling your business one day? If so, you will need to build a business that can operate without you. Here’s how some contractors are doing that.
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A Contracting Franchise?
Cover photo: Larry Arnal Photography
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Blair McDaniel’s Alair Homes is building a national network of franchised home renovation and custom building contractors, using a combination of sophisticated software systems and complete transparency on markups.
COVER STORY Crossover Construction 32 Paul Posesorski employed commercial-grade cladding and other traditionally non-residential materials in this urban new home build in Toronto.
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Construct Canada
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No matter what you build or who you build it for, there’s something for you at Canada’s largest construction trade show, Dec. 3-5 in Toronto.
Want to buy a
Franchise?
Pickup Truck Report
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The 2015 pickup trucks from the major automotive firms continue to emphasize fuel efficiency, payload capability and head-turning esthetics. These aren’t your grandfather’s work trucks.
Pickup
Trucks
40
2015 www.canadiancontractor.ca
November/December 2014
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CONTENTS
Reno
CONTENTS
16
Summit
departments What’s Online
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Highlights of important videos we’ve put up for you online at canadiancontractor.ca
Stuff We Like
Editorials
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Rob and Steve talk about liens, the law and lessons learned from the Wild West world of self-employed residential construction.
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Voices
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Readers’ comments about everything from government trough-feeders, to different types of carpenters, to professional painters.
Reno Summit
What Would
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You Do?
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Eighty contractors packed our RenoSummit one-day business seminar in early November in Toronto. Here are a few of the business tips they heard.
Maxwell’s Stuff We Like
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Our tools editor Steve Maxwell shares his thoughts on boom-andbust cycles in construction, offers five tips for design-build excellence, and shows us two of his favourite new products.
What Would You Do?
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Another case study from the real world of contracting. Give us your advice on how you would handle this sticky situation – and you could win a $100 gas card.
www.canadiancontractor.ca
November/December 2014
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ONLINE CANADIAN
Visit us online
CONTRACTOR
of .ca
VIDEO
HOW TO STOP WASTING TIME ON BAD LEADS Victoria Downing, president of the contractor coaching organization Remodelers Advantage, has posted a terrific Power Tips video that will show you how to stop “tire kickers” from wasting your valuable time. The process is called “qualifying” a lead, and it’s all about asking the right questions. Type “Leads” in the search bar at canadiancontractor.ca to find this video easily.
VIDEO
HOW EXCEL HOMES, CALGARY, WOWED A CUSTOMER When Barry Budgell, a single father of two 4-year-old boys, showed up to take possession of his new home in Cochrane, AB, he had no idea what a great surprise the builder, Excel Homes, had in store for him. Like an education fund for Barry’s boys and all sorts of add-ons to his home. Type “Excel” in the search bar at canadiancontractor.ca to find this video easily.
VIDEO
HOW TO STAY FOCUSED AS A PROFESSIONAL RENOVATOR Mike Draper, contractor coach at Renovantage.com, talks to Rob Koci about how renovation contractors can stay focused as they get pulled in 50 different directions at once by the complexity of this business. It’s all about picking a handful of measurable yardsticks that work for you.
CANADIAN
Type “Focused” in the search bar at canadiancontractor.ca to find this video easily.
BUILD | GROW | PROFIT
Editor Steve Payne spayne@canadiancontractor.ca
80 Valleybrook Drive, North York, ON, M3B 2S9
Contributing Editors John Caulfield, Trish Dugan, Steve Maxwell, Bill Roebuck
Canadian Contractor, established in 2000, is published 6 times a year by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd. ISSN 1498-8941 (Print) ISSN 1929-6495 (Online)
Art Director Mary Peligra mpeligra@bizinfogroup.ca Publisher Rob Koci rkoci@canadiancontractor.ca Production Manager Gary White gwhite@bizinfogroup.ca
Business Information Group
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Circulation Manager Beata Olechnowicz bolechnowicz@bizinfogroup.ca
www.canadiancontractor.ca
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CONTRACTOR.ca Volume 15, Number 7 November/December 2014 canadiancontractor.ca | Tel: 416 442 5600 |
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BIG Magazines LP Corinne Lynds, Editorial Director Tim Dimopoulos, Executive Publisher Alex Papanou, Vice-President of Canadian Publishing Bruce Creighton, President of Business Information Group
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EDITORIAL
Voices
LIEN TIMES, HARD LESSON By Rob Koci
I
”
I was being sued for $250,000
”
Rob Koci Publisher
rkoci@canadiancontractor.ca
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was only four years into my framing career when I put my first lien on a house. The developer/GC owed me $1,800 on a labour-only contract to frame and rough-in a 2,000 square foot in-fill home in Toronto. I placed the lien and moved on, but it was not long before I received a lawyer’s letter. It was in one of those very expensive looking business-size envelopes that open on the end and with the name of the legal firm embossed on the outside. And it was thick, with page after page describing why I was solely responsible for the house being two inches over the 30-foot height restriction. And why, because of my error, I was responsible for all of the costs associated with having to take the build to the Committee of Adjustment and OMB. I was being sued for $250,000. For a 30-something framer living with his girlfriend in a basement apartment who had never been sued before, it was horrifying. My lively but naïve imagination had me very soon broke and living under a bridge with multiple addictions. $250,000! I was scared shitless. The evening before the first scheduled court appearance, I got a call from the developer/GC. He said he was willing to settle out of court. “I’ll pay you $1,000, you withdraw the lien,” he said. In other words, the suit was a joke; a tactic. It was a letter that cost him $150 of lawyer’s fee to intimidate the crap out of me. He never had any intention of going to court! Empowered by this sudden revelation, I gave him my response: “The hell with you! See you in court!” I was apoplectic that he would make me suffer for months thinking my life was over. “Fine,” he said. “See you in court.” Thirty minutes later, whether he was playing or not, I was again sick with fear. I called him back. “I’ll take the deal,” I said. “What deal?” he replied. “Now, the deal is, you get nothing and you withdraw the lien.” Lesson learned, I withdrew the lien.
EDITORIAL
Voices
AND IN OTHER LEGAL MATTERS… By Steve Payne
H
aving read Rob’s editorial opposite, I started thinking about the entire topic of contractors and the law. Richard D. Hazel was sentenced to 30 days in jail in October for doing electrical work on four homes in the Hamilton, ON area without the benefit of an electrical license, permits, inspections or (perish the thought) an Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) ticket. And he was convicted of leaving “unsafe conditions” behind him. The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA), when we asked them, declined to specify what those conditions were. (And we can’t locate Hazel, try as we might, to ask him. If anyone knows where he is, please let me know.) This was Hazel’s second offense, the judge said during sentencing, and the ESA and OCOT both said something similar to “we are sending a message” in their press releases. And this got me thinking: Wow, what a difference there is between the medical professions and the electrical trade in the enforcement of professional misconduct. Other than Canadian Contractor, my favourite “trade” magazine is Dialogue, the journal of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons (OCPS). I love their honesty and transparency as they list the various disciplinary proceedings against their doctor-members. Such as Dr. Sastri Maharajh, found guilty last year of “professional misconduct” after he admitted to resting his cheek or placing his mouth on the breast of as many as 13 female patients. The OCPS still allows this “professional” to practice, as long as he sees only male patients. (If you would like to consult him, he’s at the Mississauga Health Centre.) And he’s not the only one. The Toronto Star reports that 21 doctors in the province have similar “men only” practices after allegations or convictions of sexual abuse. Meanwhile, unlicensed electrician Richard D. Hazel goes to jail. It’s about the licenses, not the practices, isn’t it?
”
It’s about the
licenses, not the
practices, isn’t it?
”
Steve Payne Editor
spayne@canadiancontractor.ca
Turn the page to see more on the jailed electrician.
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November/December 2014
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30 DAYS IN JAIL FOR DOING UNLICENSED ELECTRICAL WORK Richard D. Hazel, a rogue electrical contractor based in Burlington, ON, was convicted in Provincial Court in Hamilton in October on multiple charges of working without a valid electrical license, showing forged credentials, doing work without required inspections and leaving behind unsafe electrical conditions at four houses he worked on in Hamilton. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $15,485. He received $23,750 in fines (no jail term) for similar offences in Windsor, ON two years ago. Online, we got so many comments over the wire that it almost melted our service panel. A slight majority of you applauded the jail term. But a number of you objected. Here’s a selection of your posts.
“My guess is that next time this guy will get caught in another province…” Just in case anyone out there thinks this is excessive, we have a staff of ten and mostly do residential renovation. This year our permit fees will exceed $50,000. My guess is that next time this guy will get caught in another province and his already lengthy criminal record will not apply as it would here in Ontario. Rob Sloan Langstaff and Sloan, Electrical Contractors
to pack it in and retire. Then my three partners can get stuffed. One thumb down to Richard Hazel for cheating the system and two thumbs down to my three partners for creating the conditions that promote such activity. Thirty days in jail with free room and board, and a fine that is less than he would have paid in taxes and permits. Way to go… beat him with a soft noodle. Permit Poor Posted at canadiancontractor.ca
“I have seen a lot of dangerous work done by licensed professionals.” Jail time??? A criminal??? That opens some new doors. Just think how they might expand on that! Communist Ontario here we come! I wonder if it will apply to all? He who is free of sin, let him cast the first stone. I have seen a lot of dangerous work done by licensed professionals. Should they get jail time or does the license make them exempt? Terry Posted at canadiancontractor.ca
“A licensed electrician in our area was caught for no permits and a lot of improper connections… He could still operate as normal.”
Fair enough on the fine but now he’s going to jail, one day of that is more then enough for most. Bob2
Terry, I would say exempt. A licensed electrician in our area was caught (for) no permits and a lot of improper connections (like mar connectors on standard wire in underground application wrapped in electrical tape). He was taken off the no inspect list. He could still operate as normal. This all before OCOT came into effect. ESA says licensed electricians don’t do bad work: They’re trained professionals. How could they? Dave Posted at canadiancontractor.ca
“Electrical permit fees have exceeded the threshold”
Is jail time the answer? Not on the first offence, but if you continue to break the law…”
I fully support the idea of an electrical safety inspection process but feel that the permit fees have exceeded the threshold. They equate to roughly 12 per cent of most quoted jobs. If I consider what I pay in permit fees per year it would cover the salary of one inspector. Where is all the money going? I didn’t realize that when I went into business there would be four partners: One that takes all the risk (me) and three that get a free ride (bank, government, and Electrical Safety Authority). Even leeches know when to got off of a sick and overburdened host. I can hardly wait
This guy obviously didn’t learn the first time so the jail sentence is a strong message to him and all others to follow the rules. There are too many contractors out there that feel they know it all and have no regard for getting proper licenses, permits or paying their fair share of taxes. Is jail time the answer? Not on the first offence, but if you continue to break the law you have to make some examples. There needs to be stronger penalties to fight the underground economy as well. Sandy
“One day of jail is more than enough.”
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BUREAUCRAT TO ‘REVIEW’ ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TRADES Tony Dean, a public sector academic and bureaucrat (former head of the Ontario Public Service) has been appointed by the Ontario Liberal government to “review” the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) and make recommendations on its “scope of practice.” We think we know what this means: Which types of trades should be forced to pay to join this redundant, self-serving ‘College’ next? When we wrote online about Mr. Dean’s mandate, we got the following posts, among others…
“Another unqualified ‘suit’ has been appointed to oversee all the other clueless suits…” I’m so relieved that another unqualified “suit” has been appointed to oversee all the other clueless suits at OCOT. Again and again these well-heeled policy makers are making decisions about people’s lives and livelihoods when they have no idea how they work. OCOT uses the same buzzwords, about industry consultation, and membership advantages, when the only industry they consult is the construction unions and management from large construction companies. Their “consulting” would take on a different shape if they asked questions of actual tradesmen, construction workers, and small to medium contractors of all types. We hate excess regulation. Just ask any HVAC or electrical contractor how many licenses he must hold, and how many regulators he has to pay to legitimately stay in business. A licensed electrician is not allowed to run his own business unless he pays ESA a head tax. Same for a gas fitter, who must prove to TSSA that he is worthy of obtaining a contractor’s licence before he is allowed to work for himself. Then he must pay them every year, so they can hire someone to make sure he has paid them. How did we let these parasites get so much power? We were working, and too tired to follow every news article, and provincial bill, that came along. Now we are getting shafted again, and OCOT is reaping the rewards of our labour. This consultant will dream up a whole new way of shafting all the rest of you guys, and until we all put our tools down and stop working for these a-wipes, they won’t get the message. Mark Mitchell Of course, there is NO connection between Tony Dean being
appointed to review the Ontario College of Trades’ “scope of practice” and its urgent need for millions of dollars in extra revenues to pay its bills, is there? Alec Caldwell posted the following after reviewing OCOT’s annual report, which was posted online months ago – yet no one had yet commented on it in our pages.
“OCOT overspent by $3,470,560 last year.” How long would your business last if you continued to spend 26 per cent more money than you take in? Thought so. You’d be pumping gas for a living pretty fast, wouldn’t you? Well, over at the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) Registrar and CEO Dave Tsubouchi won’t be filling up your car or truck any time soon even though his organization reported 2013 revenues of $13,326,192 (the bulk of it being compulsory membership fees from tradespeople and contractors) while still managing to spend $16,796,752. A shortfall of $3,470,560. Minus 26 per cent. Check it out for yourself online. Simply Google ”Ontario College of Trades 2013 Annual Report.” Maybe not helping matters were the ten Ontario College of Trades employees who are listed on the Ontario “Sunshine List” with yearly incomes ranging from $103,000 to $180,000 (Mr. Tsubouchi’s income is the big number there). The OCOT’s total salary tab last year was $8,187,288. I wonder how many trades earn these kinds of dollars? How can OCOT raise more money to offset their debt? One obvious way they can do this is convert more trades from their extensive target list and make them “compulsory” trades. No different than the recent recommendation to make sprinkler and fire protection installers “compulsory.” It’s like being able to print your own money, isn’t it? I wonder who will be next on their hit list? The OCOT spin doctors have been working hard to tell the public and the industry how good they are. Across the page you can see the story about the unlicensed electrician now doing time in jail. You will have seen other stories about how consumers can check the credentials of tradespeople by visiting the OCOT’s website. Everything is lined up for the OCOT to mandate whole new classes of contractors and tradespeople into their organization. Alec Caldwell, www.carahs.org
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VOICES
“In my HVAC/R trade we make $100k-$120k because we have formal training, licensing and oversight.” I have been reading Canadian Contractor (e-news) since you started emailing it to me. . . There seems to be a main theme here, a problem with accepting the requirement for any type of licensing, formal training or oversight. “It is all just a government conspiracy and revenue stream.” Yet, I have not seen a shred of evidence that anyone seems to know how the apprenticeship system works. No need if you have no use for it anyway. I work in the ICI sector (HVAC/R) and have for 40 years. As such, I am not involved in home renovations as most of your readership seems to be. I do find it surprising that the majority here seem to feel that tearing someone’s house apart is a godgiven right to be executed without the need to demonstrate to any agency that they are competent. I guess this is working for you, you can tell by the confidence home owners have in the renovation industry. Also, the notion that paying Ontario College of Trades $120 a year is financially unsustainable for the tradesman, and will result in a loss in sales due to the added overhead, is even more surprising. I am not certain what the pay rate is for labour in the residential sector, but I would guess at
least $50k. In my trade it is more like $100k to $120k, but that is because we have formal training, licensing & oversight. In either case, $120 is not going to break the bank. Sorry, can’t buy that excuse at all. Not sure where you guys are going with all of this, but I wish you luck. I was going to unsubscribe, but it is worth staying on the email list just for the entertainment value alone. Joe
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SAFETY CHECKS Alec Caldwell, CARAHS (Canadian Association of Renovators and Home Services), posted a nice piece reminding contractors to watch out for Ministry of Transport ‘cops’ checking your truck’s compliance. Well, be careful not to ask for the MTO’s help in this, as Mike, below, can testify…
Fined after calling in the MTO for a “voluntary” audit “We once had the MTO in for a “voluntary” audit, wanting to
VOICES
make sure we were doing the right thing (with our commercial vehicle): proper book care, tire, safety audits, etc. To my shock after the two-day audit, they gave us $900 in fines. That’s right, a “voluntary audit.” True story. Be careful with any audits from these guys. It’s a money grab: they have to pay for their existence. Or sorry, I should say, we do. Mike Detraunt
THE LICENSING OF CARPENTERS New Jersey carpenter and renovation contractor Paul Lenart sent us this thoughtful post after we ran an article about the licensing of carpenters. As Paul points out, renovation contracting requires a really complex group of skills. Only a bureaucrat in an office thinks that a single stamp like “In Good Standing” means anything in the real world.
“Trade licensing (needs) category endorsements.” First off I have been involved in residential and commercial
construction for over 40 years, self-employed for 37. I am a journeyman carpenter by trade. I am registered as a renovation contractor by the state of New Jersey. The only thing that does is protect homeowners from uninsured and bad contractors. There are multiple categorizes and levels of expertise involved in carpentry. I have seen excellent framing carpenters that can’t build stairs or hang a door. Also precision cabinetmakers that can’t accurately install their own work. I think there should be trade licensing with category endorsements that reflect expertise levels. This would show the individual’s strengths and weaknesses in certain job areas. If the individual wants to add a category or increase a level of expertise there should be a board of administrators, master carpenters, journeymen, etc. That is, there should be (representatives) from each category of the carpentry trades to review, as a group, submitted applications. How to actually test the individual is the question. Most endorsements may be as easy as receiving grades from a trade school, but for others that have been working in the trade for 20 years, actual work inspection is best. This is just a quick idea. If someone thinks it’s worth running with, let me know! Paul Lenart
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VOICES
“I have seen great tradespeople without papers.” Yes, I totally agree with Paul. I have been a house renovator for over 25 years. My education is in mechanical engineering and I acquired the skill set from various trades people and employment in engineering. I have seen great trades people without papers and I have seen bad ones (kicked them out). The only thing to verify them is through their job site. They can show their portfolio and all the BS but no work. Rey Talusan
“This sounds like a good idea.” This sounds like a good idea. I say it would have to be kept simple with perhaps the fees all being the same. If rates were different then everyone would go for the cheapest category. Simple, because as soon as the government gets a hold of it, it will get tied up in red tape and rules forever. Marten Burghgraef
PROFESSIONAL PAINTING Steve Maxwell, in addition to being the editor of our Stuff We Like section, is also the editor of Pro Painter. We just had to share this piece he wrote for that magazine, written shortly after he got back from a trip to Warsaw, Poland. It makes a great point about working as a contractor: you’re part of an international “language” that not every profession shares. Pro Painter, which goes out to professional painters (residential, commercial, industrial) is the sister publication to Canadian Contractor – and if you’d like to have a look at some of its recent articles, please visit professionalpainter.ca.
“Painting is a universal language.” I don’t travel often, but whenever I do, I’m reminded of how dependent we all are on language. Five or six hours on a plane and your ability to communicate might just drop below the level of a toddler. But while language barriers tend to rise with distance from home, practical realities remain comfortably similar. The work of painting is a case in point, and Warsaw, Poland is a great place to see the universal language of painting in action. There’s a lot of painting going on in Warsaw right now, and it’s the sort of painting you don’t often see in North America. More than 80 per cent of the city was reduced to rubble by the end of World War 2 and many of the old buildings were rebuilt during
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the 1950s to match original designs built centuries earlier. Fast forward 60 years to the present and the parged surfaces of those concrete walls are spalling enough that the city echoes with the sounds of restoration work – air hammers, masonry saws, mortar mixers and hammers. Everywhere you look in Warsaw, buildings bristle with scaffolding, and the last tradespeople to leave that scaffolding are the painters. Making exterior surfaces on big buildings bright and beautiful again with new paint isn’t something that happens nearly as often in Canada as it does in ancient cities like Warsaw. But you still have more in common with painters around the world than your lack of foreign language(s) might lead you to believe. Brushes, paint, trays, whites and paint pots. Cutting in, rolling out, washing up after the day is done. It would definitely take you much less time to fit into any foreign painting crew than it would to learn the spoken language of the place. That’s because the language of painting is surprisingly universal – perhaps even more universal than most other trades. Painters are painters the world over, and even if we don’t share the same words, the basics are familiar to us all. And so is the way a skilled paint job makes a place look so much better, lifting the spirits of the people in the process. So if you ever find yourself in a strange city and needing work, as a painter you’ll probably fit right in. Steve Maxwell
IN MEMORY OF CRAIG LOWE We have had a number of tributes online to Craig Lowe, a Mississauga, ON painter who was prominent for many years on Mike Holmes’ TV shows. Craig passed away Aug. 2 while scuba diving in Nova Scotia. Here’s an example. I am a contractor in the Orillia and surrounding area. I have just finished watching Holmes on Homes and, unfortunately, at the end of the program learned that Craig Lowe had passed away. I watch the program regularly as it helps me to become a better contractor. Quality, professionalism and pride are often hard to find in this business. (Regarding Craig Lowe) it’s always refreshing to know there are other like-minded individuals that feel the same way as I do. I’m by no means of the same calibre as Craig was, but always aim for the highest in quality when it comes to my work. Craig gave me many tips on the program over the years which I will always keep in my tool bag and refer to when needed. My condolences and thoughts are with his family, colleagues and friends. Steve Hughes, Orillia
TRAINING
Learning to Bill What You’re Worth Some 80 contractors gathered near the Toronto airport on Nov. 7 to participate in an intensive day-long seminar on “Mastering Your Renovation Business.” This was Canadian Contractor’s third consecutive year partnering with Remodelers Advantage, the Marylandbased contractor training organization, to present RENO SUMMIT. We would like to thank each and every contractor for coming out to this event – and also thank our sponsors LePage, Brenlo Custom Wood Mouldings, Milwaukee Power Tools and Guild Quality All photos: Larry Arnal Photography
Contractors came from all over Southern Ontario (and one from Moncton, NB) to attend this year’s event. We were happy to see some contractors attending their second or third RENO SUMMIT.
Canadian Contractor publisher Rob Koci gave a talk called “Show Me The Money” in which he talked about different models of renovation contracting businesses – everything from disaster restoration to buy-renovate-and-sell ‘real estate contractors.’
Mike Draper, vice president of coaching at Renovantage, talked about “Converting More Leads to Dollars.” Mike asked: “If you have 100 leads and you convert 25 of them to signed business, what are you doing with the other 75?”
Stephen Green (right), marketing director at Brenlo Custom Wood Mouldings, Etobicoke, ON, chats with a contractor. In addition to mouldings and millwork, Brenlo is now a significant manufacturer of custom doors.
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At the sponsor’s display area, Wayne Duplantis (left), national account manager, pro division, at Henkel Canada Corporation (LePage), showed Canadian Contractor editor Steve Payne some of his company’s new products. www.canadiancontractor.ca
TRAINING
RENO SUMMIT 2014
Marc Esposito (left) was one of some 38 contractors who signed up for the event under a special promotion from Milwaukee power tools. They were given Milwaukee drill drivers – which Canadian Contractor has test-driven and heartily endorses.
Contractor coach Victoria Downing, Remodelers Advantage, delivered an energetic, upbeat presentation on “Coaching and Accountability.” She reminded contracting firm owners that they need “clear agreements” with staff and subtrades that “clarify individual roles and responsibilities.”
All photos: Larry Arnal Photography
Guild Quality’s Rebekah Taylor came up from Atlanta to talk about how her firm’s web-based customer satisfaction surveys can help contractors to build stronger businesses. She also talked about how such surveys can lead to customer testimonials that can be used to generate more business.
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BUSINESS STRATEGY
of cashing out? Can you sell your contracting business for serious money one day and retire? Yes, if you understand what makes a business saleable. Here’s how some contractors are planning for their big payday. By John Caulfield
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BUSINESS STRATEGY
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n January 6, David Litwiller will load his Harley Davidson onto his pickup truck and cruise down to Phoenix, where he’ll park the truck at a friend’s house and then drive his motorcycle down to Zihuatanego, Mexico, the seaside village that Tim Robbins escaped prison to in “The Shawshank Redemption.” Litwiller’s getaway is expected to last for two months, with his wife planning to join him for two of those weeks. At 59 years old, Litwiller finds himself with leisure time to spare. (When Canadian Contractor interviewed him in September, Litwiller was looking forward to breaking away later that month to rebuild a deck on vacation property he owns in New Brunswick.) That’s because the day-to-day operations of his Calgary-based contracting firm, Litwiller Renovations and Custom Homes - which began installing screen doors for Sears in 1977, and now generates more than $4 million in annual revenue - are in the capable hands of Dale Caines, a former oil and gas executive, structural engineer, and home builder, whom Litwiller hired as his general manager two-and-a-half years ago, and to whom Litwiller is selling the business over a five-year period. The hiring and selling parts of this story make Litwiller rare among residential contractors, whose retirement plans are just as likely to see them close their companies outright, or pass them along to their children, rather than actual sell them to a third party. “Most renovation contractors never sell their businesses,” observes Renovantage’s Mike Draper. “The vast majority of these companies are all about the owner, so without the owner there’s nothing to sell.” Indeed, recent research in the U.S. shows that less than half of privately-owned companies with revenues up to
$50 million ever get sold. Victoria Downing of Remodelers Advantage, the Maryland-based renovation contractor training firm, goes one step farther when she says that most contractors are not prepared to sell their businesses, even if they wanted to. “They don’t start early enough in advance of a sale to develop strategies and profitability,” the latter of which Downing insists is critical to attracting prospective buyers. Renovation contractors who want to actually sell their businesses one day need both operational systems and a team of committed, in-it-for-the-long-term employees who can survive the owner and provide a buyer with reasonable expectations of continuing, profitable growth.
What’s your business worth? If they think about it at all, most renovation contractors consider the sale of their company only in hypothetical terms. “I guess it would depend on your age, your savings and your stress level; do you want to be an owner anymore?” says Len Williams, who owns Rosemount Construction in West Hill, Ont. Like a lot of contractors, Williams views his book of business and his referrals list as his most marketable assets, although he concedes that figuring an asking price for Rosemount would be mostly guesswork. “I’ll be interested in reading your article,” he says with a laugh. Any price-tag calculation must at least acknowledge that the success of most small-business renovation contracting firms begins and ends with the owner’s reputation and contacts. Dave Anderchek, who started J.A.B.A. Construction in Saskatoon in 1980, estimates that his company’s assets—including trucks, trailers, and tools, whose costs don’t appear on his books because he’s already
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The vast majority of these companies are about the owner.
David Litwiller, Litwiller Construction, Calgary. Is currently half-way through selling his business to his general manager over a five-year period. amortized them as part of different projects—are worth 3-½ times their assessed value with him in the company, but only face value without him. “Dave Anderchek is the brand,” he states without boasting. Still, the 57-year-old Anderchek has been thinking about the future lately. And over the years, J.A.B.A. has remained sustainable by making operational and competitive adjustments in a market of 260,000 people saturated with 300 builders and 400 reno contractors. Five years ago, J.A.B.A. launched Platinum Plus Homes, a builder. It leaves lower-margin, cash-only renovations to smaller competitors. And it does commercial work, which can be steadier from year to year than residential. Eventually, Anderchek would like to sell the business to his employees, including his son, who has been with J.A.B.A. for a decade. He foresees a two-year process before ownership is completely transferred, and then he’d stay on in some capacity until full payment was made. But when asked if he’s confident enough that his staff could manage
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the business if he took an extended vacation, Anderchek responds “some days yes, some days no.” Staff turnover makes succession planning more difficult, he adds. Lou Orazem, who owns Caledon, Ont.-based Inspire Homes, which tackles about 25 projects a year, also envisions handing off the business to his son or daughter, or finding a buyer. “The last thing I want to do is shut it down and lose all of the equity,” he says. But Orazem doesn’t see a slew of buyers out there right now. “It’s not like this is a McDonald’s franchise,” he says. Given the low barriers to entry in the renovation contracting industry, startups can be a lot cheaper than purchasing an existing business. Even if selling conditions were ideal, most contractors have only a vague notion about how to value their companies, and their estimates are often based on factors—like historical revenue and profit—that don’t tell a buyer much about whether the business can stay afloat. Greg Caruso, a partner with Harvest Business
A lot of contractors create jobs for themselves and make a very good living, but they don’t build a business.
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Dave Anderchek, J.A.B.A. Construction, Saskatoon. Estimates his company is worth 3-1/2 times more with him on board, than without him.
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The last thing I want to do is shut it down and lose all of the equity.
Lou Orazem, Inspire Homes, Caledon. Design-builder is planning on transferring his business to his son or daughter, one day. Advisors in Columbia, Md., says the standard formulas for small-business valuation—2.5 times net income or, for companies whose revenues exceed $500,000, four times cash flow—are meaningless unless a seller can also demonstrate that the business in play is sustainable. “A lot of remodelers create jobs for themselves and make a very good living, but they don’t build a business,” he explains. “A business should be like an ATM machine: there’s a system and the money comes out, and an ordinary person could step into that system and get a continuous, extraordinary result.” There are a number of ways that renovation contractors can prove their worth. One is through the integrity of their balance sheets, says John McLellan, who owns McLellan Contracting in Pickering, Ont., and is also a business coach. Another measure is renewable contracts with customers like schools or retailers. “That’s guaranteed work,” says McLellan. He’s taken steps to make his company marketable in the event he decides to sell it some day. For example, his company has been bonded for two years, and his bond facility company and accountant “are very strict about my balance sheet.” He has fortified that balance sheet by reducing his company’s liabilities: where other local contractors are offering warranties of up to 10 years, McLellan has dropped his warranty to one year. “I tell customers that many of the businesses offering 10 years won’t be around that long,” he quips. McLellan says he’s striving to make his operations less a cult of personality. A year ago he promoted one employee to chief operating officer, so he could concentrate on sales and marketing. He also has project
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managers and salespeople who have direct relationships with customers. McLellan has assembled three binders full of details about his company’s strategies, systems and models, “so other people would be able to do my job. You want to become replaceabIe, and for every one of your employees to be replaceable too. If a layman can buy your business and still make a profit, then that business has value.”
A systematic approach Remodeling contractors are in agreement that what separates a company that’s sellable and one that isn’t is the quality of the systems it has in place. Take Dwayne Butler, 45, who started Dwayne Butler Contracting in Markham, Ont., nine years ago. He recently changed the name of his company to Master Edge Homes as the first step towards “building value over the next 20 years.” He’s in the process of hiring operations managers, and is working on developing an employee handbook and business descriptions. His goal, he says, is to create models and systems “so I could walk away tomorrow and someone could come into the office and run the company.” When David Litwiller decided he wanted to phase himself out of running his business on a day-to-day basis, he paid a headhunter $18,000 to find a general manager, and Caines emerged as one of three candidates. Caines’ resume includes stints with a geothermal and structural engineering firm he helped grow from a single office to five offices with more than 100 employees. He also worked with investors to build tract homes. Litwiller says that Caines, who is now 37 years old, “interviewed me as much as I did him.” And Caines, whose
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If a layman can buy your business and still make a profit, then that business has value.
John McLellan, McLellan Contracting, Pickering. He has assembled three binders full of details on his companies strategies, systems and models. work history suggests a personality in constant search for new horizons, says he was intrigued by the prospect of being able to own the company within five years. Since coming on board, Caines says he’s put in a place a marketing plan devised by a firm in Nova Scotia that has included a new logo, website, and more extensive reliance on Google Analytics to track and evaluate job leads, 70 per cent of which originate from search-engine optimization. He is also working with Litwiller on installing or upgrading the company’s operating systems. “Dale has learned an awful lot in the last few years,” says Litwiller. Caines says his first real goal is to boost the company’s monthly revenue to between $1 million and $1.5 million. “I don’t have limits, because when you set limits it’s not fair to me or the company,” he says.
Offers may vary Neither Litwiller nor Caines provided details about their financial arrangement to transfer ownership or profit allocation. But those details can’t be ignored when contractors are determining the value of their businesses and who they might consider selling it to. In 2007, three employees of the St. Jacobs, Ont.-based design/build firm Menno S. Martin Contractor offered to purchase the company from Laverne Brubaker, its owner since the early 1970s. As Brubaker remembers it, the employees hired their own accountant who didn’t know much about the business, and came up with a bid “that was way too low.” Early, the following year, Brubaker said he would be willing to cease drawing a salary and, instead, take a percentage of the bottom line. (The next
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two years turned out to be the company’s most profitable.) Finally, in the summer of 2009, Brubaker and his accountant came up with a plan “based on share value and the bottom line” that was acceptable to the two of the employee-bidders, Trent Bauman (who had worked for Brubaker for 20 years) and Art Janzen (who had been with him for seven), both of whom are in their 40s. On January 1, 2010, Bauman, Janzen and their wives made their first down payment. And in each proceeding year, Brubaker has received a variable profit split that in 2014 will be 50 per cent. (The third employee dropped out of the picture because he’s in his 60s and figured he’d be retired before the ownership transition was completed.) Brubaker, now 70, says be benefitted from this deal in several ways. For one thing, he and his wife took advantage of a capital gains tax exemption totaling $1.5 million. And while he maintains an office and is still chairman at Menno S. Martin, he’s there only about five hours a week, leaving him more time to enjoy golf, skiing, traveling, and philanthropic work. Reflecting on this experience, Brubaker advises other contractors thinking about selling their business to work with their accountants to divest any personal assets that could be attached to the company. He also points out that at a time when reno contractors “are a dime a dozen,” and tend to disappear once the owner departs, sellers have to be able to show buyers assets to which a monetary number can be ascribed. In his company’s case, one asset was a database of between 3,500 and 4,000 names and addresses of clients and vendors that the company stays in touch with through an e-newsletter. “That creates value for the next owner,” Brubaker says. cc
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PROFILE
Alair Homes franchisees and staff visit a jobsite in Collingwood, ON.
A FRANCHISE MODEL
FOR CONTRACTORS Blair McDaniel, founder and CEO of Alair Homes, wants to establish Canada’s first truly national brand name in home renovation and homebuilding using a unique business system. By Trish Dugan
C
an operating as a franchisee, rather than as an independent operator, improve your renovation or homebuilding firms’ profits? For years, the Canadian home improvement marketplace has said, generally, no. The only truly successful, nationally-established franchises in home improvement have focused, not on general contracting, but on sub-specialties such as painting, window coverings, flooring, storage, bathtub refinishing and, of course, disaster restoration.
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Now, British Columbia-based Alair Homes, the brainchild of general contractor Blair McDaniel, 32, wants to be the first nationally-franchised brand name in Canadian renovation contracting and homebuilding. Credit the fear-inducing influence of a certain celebrity TV contractor for making such a model more likely to succeed these days. “Mike Holmes and other contractor celebrities have put a real scare into our industry and, ultimately, the consumer,” McDaniel told Canadian Contractor. “People are gravitating
PROFILE
toward companies that are larger than ‘John, the local guy’ who might not be there in a year. Our clients get a lot of comfort out of working with a large, nationally-branded company.” And that client “comfort” level also comes from Alair’s “complete transparency” all the way through the project, McDaniel says. The company has developed highly-detailed processes and procedures with a custom-built online communications platform that gives the client online access to real-time information about scheduling, progress, pricing and even mark-up. Yes, you read that correctly; the mark-up is disclosed to the homeowner by Alair Homes. “Although we are licensed builders and renovators, we are really facilitators and consultants first. Clients retain us to walk through construction projects with them and provide details and costs in a completely transparent manner. This is quite different than the typical client and contractor arrangement,” says McDaniel.
The Evolution of Alair Homes McDaniel first swung a hammer for pay when he was a high school student in Fergus, working as a house framer. By 21, he had completed his first project as a commercial builder, a 160,000 square foot retirement centre in Burlington, Ont. Soon after, McDaniel and wife, Allison, an interior designer, moved to Vancouver Island to work the boom in commercial building. After about two years of that, they decided to start building custom homes for clients and founded Alair Homes in Nanaimo, B.C. in September 2007. But almost immediately, the massive U.S. sub-prime loan issue burst open, rippling across the border and cooling Canadian real estate in its wake. And although the Canadian mortgage industry was untainted by such precariously-leveraged lending, custom homebuilders and homeowners in Canada began to fear “risk” in a way that was unprecedented. “So, we drew on what we’d learned in commercial construction and created a business model that reduced risk,” says McDaniel.
To meet the need for complete transparency and to manage projects as effectively as possible, the McDaniels decided to develop and launch their own software program. While this required a sizable commitment of resources, they found existing off-the-shelf builder software lacking. “We spent over a year building a software system and Blair McDaniel are still fine-tuning it based on CEO Alair Homes feedback from the guys in the field. Using our online portal, clients have 24-hour access to a written record of all details and progress on their project, sub-trade quotes, pricing, selections, changes and more,” says McDaniel.
A Three Phase Process At first glance, the Alair Homes’ process seems much like any other, but a closer look reveals the differences. Overall, the process involves three distinct phases. The first phase, for which there is no charge, includes an initial factfinding meeting that is documented on selection sheets, a review of zoning and permit issues and a high level scope of work estimate. The second phase calls for the execution of a design and estimate agreement and a deposit. Once the design is completed, all details of the project are captured using a 120-category checklist of construction components and hundreds of subcomponents. The flooring category, for example, includes the subcomponents of hardwood/tile/carpet/floor leveling. Also, during this phase, hard quotes are obtained from trades, plans suitable for permit application are prepared and a project budget and schedule are presented to the client. For this phase, McDaniel says they charge an industry-average mark-up and 100 per cent of their staff’s billable time. At this point, the client is free to take the information to another builder or they can proceed with the third phase using Alair Homes to complete their project. If the client chooses Alair, a construction agreement is executed and a deposit is taken. Depending on the scope of work, two to three project managers, an assistant project manager and
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PROFILE
a framer are assigned to the project. As with the previous phase, a mark-up and billable staff time are charged. The third phase continues with a pre-construction start meeting to review client expectations, schedule work and set future meeting dates. As construction begins, ongoing project management and scheduling are provided and as each milestone is reached, the client provides payment before proceeding to the next milestone. Throughout the project, through the online portal, clients are kept continuously informed of the amount of time the project manager and assistant project manager have spent on their project. They can also monitor the project’s progress, view photos of the work and review all costs and invoices. The corporate office maintains third party control of the project by evaluating on-site performance and ensuring quality control standards are met. The client maintains control by approving every selection of trade or finish through the online portal. McDaniel says that Alair’s clients are not paying more for projects than they would be with a more traditional, unfranchised general contracting firm. “Clients pay in the same range as they would pay from any other competitor. The difference is that we provide greater detail and clarity by clearly defining what the mark up on the project is, as well as what the markup on each of our staff members is,” says McDaniel.
Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. Pay-per-click advertising and listings in aggregator sites like Houzz, Trusted Pros and HomeStars are also included. The corporate office also provides support for trade shows, local networking and customer appreciation events. All franchisees and staff wear Alair Homes shirts. A corporate graphic design team provides site signage, vehicle signage, trade show signage, banners and all manner of print materials for presentations to clients. Full accounting service from the corporate office reduces the franchisees’ involvement to reviewing and approving invoices for payment and collecting cheques from the client for deposit to their own bank account. Accounting staff then access franchisee bank accounts to issue payment to sub-trades and suppliers. Sales training support includes initial project management training and attendance at a 12-week sales training boot camp. Franchisees also participate in weekly conference calls with their peers and the corporate office to discuss business performance and draw on the synergy of shared knowledge. While ordering isn’t centralized, McDaniel says franchisees do benefit from pooled product buys, special discounted rates from national suppliers and the builder’s discounts with local providers that are passed on to clients. The Alair Homes franchise structure includes master and unit franchise locations. The master franchise locations are large geographic areas with individual units. Some new master franchise units operate as individual units in addition to their intended role as management partners with the corporate office. This is expected to change as individual units are sold. Master units sell for $150,000-250,000 and individual units sell for $69,250. As with most franchises, royalty fees are paid to the franchisor. At time of writing, according to McDaniel, all master franchises in Canada have been sold, with the exception of Atlantic Canada. McDaniel says that 26 franchises have been sold and launched and 20 more will be operating over the next year in Canada. There is one master franchise with two operating individual units in Arizona. Individual units are still available in all provinces.
Twenty-six Alair Home franchises have been sold in Canada and the U.S.
Building A National Brand In 2011, McDaniel decided to franchise Alair Homes and set about the task of expanding his risk-averse business model and establishing processes and systems to support a North American network for custom building and renovations. “Most guys are great at what they do, but marketing, accounting and a step-by-step quality control process for construction is typically non-existent among 95 per cent of small contractors,” says McDaniel. As part of the franchise agreement, franchisees receive marketing support, accounting and sales training. Marketing support includes web page support for an individual website in the form of blog posts and search engine optimization (SEO). They also receive social media help with
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PROFILE
Master franchise terms are 15 years, but are renewable for a maximum of 35 years while individual unit franchise terms are 10 years, renewable to 30 years.
What Franchisees Say At this point in their operations – the Edmonton unit opened in 2011, while the majority of franchises were launched in 2013 and 2014 – all seven of the master franchisees interviewed for this story voiced enthusiastic support of the system, citing an “incredible” level of support from the corporate office. They were also unanimous in their belief that Blair McDaniel has created a system and a process that attracts clients, reduces risk, and builds their businesses. Northern Alberta master franchise holder and operator of the first Edmonton unit franchise, Jamie Affleck, is an Edmonton native who first worked with McDaniel from offices in Edmonton and B.C. to expand Alair Homes in its prefranchising days. In September, Affleck, who is a thirdgeneration builder, firefighter and a former mortgage broker, took home an award of excellence (for renovations over $500,000 from CHBA Alberta at their BUILD 2014 event in Jasper, Alta. “I think that the thing that’s really exciting is that we are providing a concierge service for clients who want a great experience in construction or renovation. That’s from a design standpoint right though the experience of building your home, which is often associated with a stressful environment. I’m not saying it isn’t (stressful), because in a period of six months, you will still go through highs and lows. But a great experience is possible, if we make sure our business of project management is run as efficiently as possible and the commitment to training and constantly improving is there,” says Affleck. Gary Prenevost, one of three partners in the Ontario master franchise and the operator of the Hamilton, Ont. unit franchise, also happens to be a franchise consultant with Frannet Canada. He says he did not provide consulting services to Alair Homes when McDaniel decided to franchise operations. When asked what he found attractive about the Alair Homes franchise, he answered with a quick primer on franchising, pointing out that what makes franchising work are the systems
and processes and the people who drive them. He went on to say that the negative perception surrounding franchising is a result of people thinking of the food or retail sectors when they think of franchising. However, Prenevost says those sectors barely account for 40 per cent of the entire franchise industry. He adds that the biggest trends in franchising today are service-based franchises operating in the business-to-consumer or business-tobusiness arenas. “What attracted to me to Alair Homes is that it’s a servicebased franchise that has built systems 10-15 years ahead of their time in terms of their maturity as a franchise system. They are doing some things that major brands in the U.S. and Canada aren’t doing in terms of leveraging each other’s resources and building the internal mechanics to ensure a consistent, deliverable product. Why do people go to a franchise? For a consistent experience,” says Prenevost. Prenevost also says he was also attracted to the 100 per cent transparency to customers on every single thing that is happening on-site, including the markups that Alair is charging. “Clients can go to our online software portal and see what is happening every day because project managers upload their notes every day. If you do a change order, clients see it immediately and it must be approved by them. Prenevost said that, without this degree of transparency, a $200,000 traditionally run job might have a cost overrun of, say, $40,000 at the end of the job. “The client is responsible because they are making (the) changes, but the contractor isn’t communicating it effectively and then there’s a big problem at the end of the job.” In the world of franchising, there are not supposed to be any unpleasant surprises for the customer because there are systems in place and the communication of what’s being purchased and delivered is clear and unambiguous. This is the basic “repeatable business processes” philosophy that has driven the growth of franchises – from fast food to lawn services – for the past half century. Blair McDaniel and his contractor franchise holders want to see their transparency model – and their systems – change the way renovation contractors and home builders deal with their clients. cc
Alair Homes’ business model is based on 100 per cent transparency on markups.
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CREATIVE EYE
Urban Detached Custom Home 50 Grandview Avenue, Riverdale, Toronto Paul Posesorski, Contractor, Owner By Steve Payne Just stand outside of the recentlycompleted new home of contractor Paul Posesorski, and you will get the eerie feeling that you’ve seen materials like this before – and also that you’ve never seen them before. There’s a sort of ‘crossover construction’ going on. The exterior rainwall cladding? You’ve mainly seen panels like that on high-end commercial buildings. That massive “cornerless” window? Again, you’ve seen grand glass like that commercially, but rarely on a one-off custom home build. That painted raw steel structure on the second floor walk-out from the master bedroom? You’ve seen elements like that on public or commercial buildings. Posesorski’s Riverdale labour-of-love was inspired, he says, by his years of tagging highly modernistic urban structures in magazines like Dwell, Azure and, lately, online at Houzz. We also think Paul’s love of the beauty of utilitarian steel (designed-to-rust front steps, railings made of rebar, etc.) also came from his years as a contractor who built, not houses, but car plants. But materials which could be harshly industrial and soulless if less warmly applied are quite marvelous here in a house that has more than a small nod to Posesorski’s hero, Frank Lloyd Wright.
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CONSTRUCTION
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CREATIVE EYE
All Photos: Larry Arnal Photography
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CREATIVE EYE
50 Grandview Avenue, Riverdale, Toronto Paul Posesorski, Contractor, Owner
Structurally, that 11-foot high by 9-foot wide ‘cornerless’ window (Doefner Windows, Germany) at the front right side of the living room required a complex, cantilevered steel frame to hold up that part of the house. 15,000 lbs of structural steel went into the house, including a 16-inch by 40-foot beam down the right hand side. The cantilever was a large undertaking, of course, but Posesorski just knew that he wanted that massive window – so the engineering (the engineer was Alex Gameley) just followed from there. “We decided to design this (entire house) based on certain areas first – the cornerless window, the stairs, the kitchen.” All the other design elements just flowed from focusing on those three priorities. Posesorski started with sketches and ideas and took them to architect Sabina Rotenberg (Integral Design Associates). Rotenberg developed the drawings to the permit stage while Posesorski began sourcing the industrially-chic products. The exterior composite panels on the first floor came from Europe (VIVIX by Formica and ETER-Color by Euro Panel), while the similar but less-expensive panels on the second floor are from James Hardie.
CROSSOVER
CONSTRUCTION
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CREATIVE EYE
All Photos: Larry Arnal Photography
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CREATIVE EYE
50 Grandview Avenue, Riverdale, Toronto Paul Posesorski, Contractor, Owner
The ultramodern bathroom at lower right is typical of the magic of this house in that it uses typically cold and hard materials in ways that just breathe out warmth, such as the steel-looking porcelain floor. Posesorski handed much of the bathroom design to Eco Innovations. That’s a steam shower you see there, with – not a showerhead – but an “integrated rain head.” The bedroom, with the white ash Nadura eco-conscious flooring, has a Flou closet system along the full length of the wall. In this system, the closet rails pull out and towards the user, eliminating the need for a space-consuming walk-in closet area. The stairs you see here, as well as the glass railings, were designed and constructed by Ee stairs.
CROSSOVER
CONSTRUCTION
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CREATIVE EYE
All Photos: Larry Arnal Photography
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CONSTRUCT CANADA
December 3-5, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building
CONSTRUCT CANADA
This giant trade show is really seven shows in one. The Homebuilder & Renovator Expo is the place to see cutting edge residential construction products and compare notes with your entrepreneurial builder colleagues from across Canada. The seminar program (visit www.constructcanada.ca for room locations and times) is extensive. Here are some of the presentations we think our readers will find relevant.
Kitchen and Bath Redesign: Latest Trends and Ideas This seminar will focus on the latest trends in kitchen and bathroom design. How has function changed and developed in these two rooms? How are appliances today making a statement and playing a key role in the aesthetics of the kitchen? How have styles evolved and where are they heading? Come and learn what the current trends of today are and what can we expect in the future.
New and Innovative Products for Residential Construction In 2009, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), and Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA) partnered to build two of Canada’s most sustainable
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CONSTRUCT CANADA
production-built homes at The Living City Campus at Kortright, in Vaughan. Each home is rated under a multiple new home labeling systems including EnergyStar, GreenHouse, and LEED Canada for Homes, to the Platinum level. The houses have been instrumented with over 300 points of monitoring so that the existing and future technologies can be tested and evaluated. This seminar will provide an overview of the green building practices and sustainable technologies demonstrated in both these LEED Platinum homes as well as a more detailed review of the outcomes from performance research of All Climate Ground and Air Source Heat Pumps in the houses.
An Update on Leading-Edge Technologies and Systems for Building Envelopes Perhaps no segment of the building industry has seen as much innovation over the past decade as the green sector. This seminar will examine new products, emerging trends and take a glimpse into the future related to green materials, products, systems, and technologies. This discussion will also focus on what can currently be integrated into projects in an economical way. Participants will benefit from a spotlight on innovations in energy, water, air quality, and sustainable materials.
Project Management Techniques for Home Builders and Renovators Small to medium sized construction business often don’t take the time to improve their project management processes. In this seminar, the speaker will introduce you to some key project management fundamentals and show you how a relatively simple scheduling software program can put you on the road to continuous improvement by increasing productivity, lowering costs, and improving quality, while at the same time help reduce stress. Working on your business, instead of in your business, using project management techniques will improve productivity, reduce rework, and improve quality while reducing stress.
How Can Technology Help My Business? We all know we should be moving towards paperless offices because it ensures that all information can be extracted readily. However, it is not always so easy to find the perfect technology solution to help grow and protect your business. We also know that with the increased digital presence there are considerations that we have not had to contemplate previously. Can I use digital
signatures? What is all this CASL talk about? What services and tools can I use to help with property management. This session will showcase select service providers who will provide key tips, tricks, and advice on working in a digital age.
Retrofit Technologies for Wood Framed Housing: Cladding, Insulation and Moisture Management This seminar will focus on the retrofit of cladding and insulation in wall assemblies. Both of these retrofit measures may affect the management of moisture within the wall that in turn may bring about moisture problems. For example, using progressively higher levels of insulation in wall assemblies to attain greater energy savings could result in moisture problems given the impact that higher insulation levels have on the wetting and drying characteristics of the walls. Likewise the manner in which cladding is affixed to the exterior of a wall will necessarily affect the wall’s response to climate loads and the presence and size of drainage cavities is expected to alter degree of drainage from and drying of the assembly when subjected to severe weather conditions. In this seminar, a description of efforts to find appropriate solutions for retrofitted walls are provided. Also discussed will be details on the moisture response and durability of retrofitted wall assemblies.
The Latest in Energy Saving Technologies for Single Family Homes from the Canadian Centre for Housing Technology The Canadian Centre for Housing Technology is a partnership between the National Research Council Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Over 60 housing-related technologies have been assessed at the CCHT twin houses and InfoCentre, ranging from compact fluorescent light bulbs and high performance windows to natural gas-fired combined heat and power technologies and solar energy systems. This presentation will highlight the latest projects from the CCHT including: The heating and cooling performance of a high velocity, two-zone combination space and water heating system; A project examining the integration issues of energy power systems – including power generation, storage and energy management – to minimize the energy consumption and peak power requirements; and the potential of mini-split heating and cooling systems to produce energy savings, when compared to a central AC (cooling) and condensing gas (heating) system. cc
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TRUCKS
New full-size pickups are getting tougher for 2015 but improved fuel economy remains
Pickup Trucks
a highlight for most
MEAN YET LEAN By Bill Roebuck
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>> I
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t’s getting to be a whole new world for full-size pickup trucks. Last year, almost every pickup manufacturer introduced newly redesigned or refreshed models and the changeover continues for the 2015 models now on the market. With full-size pickups generally guzzling the most fuel of all the models in each company’s lineup of cars, crossovers, SUVs and trucks, the focus of most the updates has been to improve fuel efficiency. They’re doing this mainly by improving exterior aerodynamics, using the latest powertrain technologies and by reducing vehicle weight through the use of new materials. On top of this, some pickup interiors are becoming more car-like, with better soundproofing and more comfort and convenience features. One example is the Ram 1500 pickup, which received a Ward’s Auto 10 Best Interiors Award for its 2014 redesign. The Ram is the only full-size truck ever to get that award. Noteworthy features that are becoming common in the latest pickups are dampened tailgates that don’t crash down when you open them; step-assists to make it easier to climb into the cargo bed; and safety features like backup cameras, and forward collision and lane departure warning technology. Plus you’re likely to find Bluetooth, as well as advanced radio and navigation systems. Since 70 per cent of the full-size pickup trucks sold in Canada are half-ton versions (usually designated as 150 or1500 models), this update focuses on those models. Heavy-duty three-quarter-ton and one-ton models (250/350 or 2500/3500) make up the remaining 30 per cent. If you regularly tow more
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TRUCKS
FORD F-150
>>
than 4,536 kg (10,000 lb.), you’ll want to investigate the heavy-duty models. Ford has been getting a lot of attention this year for the all-new design of its 2015 F-150, as it boasts a mostly aluminum body instead of steel to save weight. While some manufacturers have used aluminum components in the past - such as for hoods - this is the first comprehensive use of the lightweight metal in a pickup body. Each model in the 2015 F-150 lineup benefits from up to 317 kg (700 lb.) of weight savings through the use of high-strength steel in the frame and high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloy in the body. As a result, the new F-150 can tow up to 500 more kg (1,100 lb.) and haul up to 240 more kg (530 lb.) than the previous model, all with better fuel economy. Several features debut in the new F-150, including 11 class-exclusive options. These include exterior cameras to create a 360-degree bird’s-eye view of the truck to help drivers park, manoeuvre in tight spots or navigate narrow roads and trails; integrated loading ramps for easy loading of ATVs, motorcycles or mowers; and a trailer hitch assist that uses a rear-view camera that incorporates a dynamic line based on the steering wheel angle in the display to help line up the truck and trailer with no spotter or need to exit the vehicle. There are four engine options. The 2.7-litre EcoBoost V6 has standard Auto Start-Stop, and produces 325 hp and 375 lb.-ft. of torque. With a maximum payload rating of 1,021 kg (2,250 lb.) and maximum tow rating of 3,855 kg (8,500 lb.), Ford says this engine offers the mid-range requirements that meet the needs of more than 90 per cent of light-duty truck customers. The 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost produces 420 lb.-ft. of torque and 365 hp to enable towing of up to 5,533 kg (12,200 lb.) – more than enough to handle a fully loaded, three-horse trailer or large boat. It has a maximum payload rating of 1,442 kg (3,180 lb.). The 5.0-litre V8 offers 385 hp and 387 lb.-ft. of torque, and towing capability is up by 500 kg (1,100 lb.) to a maximum 4,989 kg (11,100 lb.), and payload is increased to 1,496 kg (3,300 lb.). The fourth engine option is a 3.5-litre V6 that produces 283 hp and 255 lb.-ft. of torque, with a maximum payload of 866 kg (1,910 lb.) and a maximum tow rating of 3,447 kg (7,600 lb.), high ratings for a V6 light-duty pickup truck. Five primary trims are available and include XL, XLT, Lariat, Platinum and King Ranch.
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TRUCKS
>>
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GMC SIERRA CHEVY SILVERADO
A new eight-speed automatic transmission will be standard on 2015 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra models equipped with the 6.2-litre EcoTec3 V8. The GM-developed HydraMatic 8L90 eight-speed is about the same size and weight as the Hydra-Matic 6L80 six-speed automatic. Its 7.0 overall gear ratio spread is wider than GM’s six-speed automatic transmissions, providing a numerically higher first gear ratio to help drivers start off more confidently with a heavy load or when trailering. The 8L90 also enables numerically lower rear axle ratios, which reduce engine rpm on the highway. General Motors completely redesigned its mechanicallytwin Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 half-ton models for 2014, and the redesign has been applied to the heavy-duty models for 2015. Last year, GM made hundreds of improvements, large and small. Among them are a trio of all-new EcoTec3 engines, a V6 and two V8s; a stronger, quieter and more comfortable cab; a new interior with features and connectivity tailored to truck customers; revised steering, suspension and brakes for improved ride and handling; and enhanced solutions for managing cargo in the bed. With 420 hp and 460 lb.-ft. of torque, the 6.2-litreEcoTec3 V8 is the most powerful engine offered in any light-duty pickup, and offers a maximum available trailer rating of
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5,443 kg (12,000 lb.). As with other EcoTec3 engines, it seamlessly switches to four-cylinder operation under lighter loads to improve fuel economy. These trucks also offer optional safety features such as Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning with an Active Safety Seat, and Front and Rear Park Assist. StabiliTrak with Trailer Sway Control and Hill Start Assist are standard. Models include a crew cab, regular cab model and double cab, in seven trim levels. The crew cabs are available with a 6’6” box in addition to a 5’8” box, enabling crews to carry more cargo while still being able to park in many garages. Focusing on function, GM added step-in assist depressions in the corners of the rear bumper to make it easier to climb into the bed. The tailgate is damped too, so it can be lowered and raised using just one hand, which is great when your other hand is holding tools or supplies. High-strength steel is used in the frames to provide strength with less weight. Aluminum alloys have been used to reduce the weight of engines, front suspension components, hoods and other parts. Interestingly, GM is reported to be developing an aluminum-body pickup for the 2019 model year. According to the Vincentric Canada Best Value in Canada awards, the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has the lowest operating costs in the full-size half-ton pickup segment.
TRUCKS
CHRYSLER RAM
>>
Chrysler got the jump on its Detroit-based cousins by redesigning its Ram pickup for the 2013 model year, with a highlight being the first to offer a fuel-saving eight-speed automatic transmission (compared to five- or six-speed versions on competitors). Ram also is the only model in Canada that offers a diesel engine in a half-ton pickup. The 3.0-litre EcoDiesel V6 produces 420 lb.-ft. of torque and up to 9,200 lb. of towing capability, yet Chrysler claims it can achieve a highway fuel economy rating of 7.1 L/100 km (40 mpg) and a city rating of 10.7 L/100 km (28 mpg) when equipped rear-wheel drive and the eight-speed transmission. Other fuel-saving features include a stop-start system, thermal management system, pulse-width modulation and active aerodynamics, including grille shutters and an air suspension. Other available engines include the 5.7-litre Hemi V8 and the Pentastar V6, both gasoline-powered. The Ram truck brand set an all-time monthly sales record in October 2014, marking its 23rd month of consecutive yearover-year sales gains in Canada.
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TRUCKS
TOYOTA TUNDRA
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Although Toyota’s Tundra full-size pickup was refreshed for 2014, you won’t see a major redesign of it until the 2016 model year. Last year’s all-new front design integrates the hood and grille for a chiselled image. The grille is taller, visually connecting the upper air intake to the lower bumper. The front and rear lower bumpers have a three-piece design, allowing for lower replacement costs if they get damaged on the worksite. In addition, the fenders and wheel wells have been squared-off for to provide a sturdier appearance. With the refresh came a new bed and tailgate with an integrated spoiler that helps with fuel efficiency. Suspension enhancements were made to improve ride quality over harsh surfaces. Also, several interior upgrades were made to improve seating and storage, and to reduce cabin noise. Regarding safety, the Tundra includes a standard backup camera on all grades. A Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross Traffic Alert is offered as an option. The Toyota Tundra is available in 10 models. New for 2015, the TRD OffRoad Tundra model is now available as a Limited grade in both Double Cab and CrewMax configurations, providing it with more features, comfort and utility. Toyota celebrated 50 years of operating in Canada in October 2014.
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TRUCKS
>> 46
NISSAN TITAN For 2015, Nissan is again offering the Titan pickup in King Cab and Crew Cab body styles with a choice of 4x4 and 4x2 drive configurations and two bed lengths. The full-size pickup is available in four models – S, SV, PRO-4X and SL. The Titan is built on Nissan’s F-Alpha pickup platform, featuring a 5.6-litre DOHC Endurance V8 engine. A five-speed automatic transmission is standard. The company says it was designed especially for heavy-duty truck use, with an emphasis on towing. Enhancements made to the Titan for 2015 include a revised interior door panel design and materials, a driver seat power adjustable lumbar support on Captain Chair models, and two new exterior colours -- Artic Blue Metallic and Magnetic Black. Nissan reportedly has plans to introduce an optional diesel engine for the Titan, under a new partnership with Cummins, possibly for the 2015 model year. Last year, Nissan gave its Titan full-size pickup an updated tailgate design with an aerodynamic rear spoiler and integrated rear view camera that is standard on all but the base S model. The long-wheelbase model features a range-topping
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7-ft. bed with the Crew Cab body configuration. The Titan has Wide-Open rear doors in the King Cab that open nearly 180 degrees for unobstructed rear cab access, and an optional highutility bed that includes a factory-applied spray-on bedliner, a Utili-track tie-down system and an integrated, lockable bedside storage compartment. The bedside storage bin is designed to hold common truck items such as work gloves, chains, ropes, road flares, a first aid kit or a hitch ball. The compartment is double-sealed to help prevent the intrusion of water and dust and uses the ignition key for unlocking. The truck bed also features a 120-volt outlet, except on the S model. The truck continues to be powered by an all-aluminum 5.6-litre V8 engine that has been in use since 2007. It is rated at 317 hp and 385 lb.-ft. of torque. Maximum towing capacity, when properly equipped, is up to 9,500 lb. for the King Cab and 9,400 lb. for the Crew Cab. cc Bill Roebuck is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), which produces the annual Canadian Car of the Year and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards.
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BUILD IT
BETTER 5 Real world design strategies for contractors Page 52
STEVE MAXWELL’S
P RO D U C T S , T E C H N O L O G Y & T I P S F O R C O N T R AC TO R S
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BOOM AND BUST VETERANS
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MAXWELL’S MIND
BOOM AND BUST VETERANS By Steve Maxwell
There’s a dividing line in the world between the wildness of nature and the tame world of civilization, and the closer an occupation is to this dividing line, the more unpredictable, dangerous and financially challenging survival becomes. Farmers, loggers and fishermen operate right on the front lines between nature and civilization, and that’s why they face dangers, struggles and uncertainties that are never seen on Bay Street. Bankers may have their challenges, but do they ever get crushed by a falling tree, or suffer frostbite during the course of a work day, or get washed overboard into icy waters?
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As a Canadian contractor – you’re not far back from the front lines of the struggle between nature and civilization.
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As a contractor – especially a Canadian contractor – you’re not far back from the front lines of the struggle between nature and civilization. Your work is to bring shelter to people in a climatically hostile country, and you need to do it in financially profitable ways while dealing with often contradictory expectations, difficult personalities, and government red tape. It’s a steep challenge. Success as a contractor is made even more challenging by the rising and falling economy. During boom years, you can’t possibly keep up with the expectations laid on you. During lean years, you can’t stir up enough work to scare away the worries of financial trouble. Perhaps it’s this constant battering of the soul by the boom and bust cycles that creates something I’ve noticed in experienced contractors. They’re humble. Not all of them, of course, but contractors who have a long track record of success through good times and bad seem to have had their rough edges rounded off in a way that looks good on them. It’s a painful process, to be sure, but it also offers a lesson.
Steve Maxwell Tools Editor
steve@stevemaxwell.ca
Many contractors have been living through bust times for years now. I know some personally, and I can see what it’s doing to them to wonder if there will be enough work to keep their households going this winter. There’s nothing I can write here to change that, but there is something I hope you find worth remembering. In a country as harsh as Canada, people everywhere owe a lot to those savvy enough to survive so near the battle zone where shelter is imposed on a hostile world. It’s good work, necessary work, and the kind of work that can make builders into better people. Or so it seems to me.
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MAXWELL’S S t u f f We L i k e
Build it
5
BETTER Real world design strategies for contractors There are a million ways to build mistakes, but far fewer ways to do things right. That’s why every good contractor needs to know something about design. While it’s not your job to be an architect, eventually you’ll find yourself making decisions that either make or break the look and feel of major renovations and new builds. Every working contractor knows this. What’s less obvious is that the more clients like the look and feel of your work, the more and better jobs you’ll get. That’s where these five real-world design strategies can pay off. They’ve helped me over the years, and perhaps they can do the same for you.
Strateg y #1
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Make Scale Drawings or Models This is one of those ideas that seems like a waste of time until it saves you from a major visual mistake. Even experienced builders can’t always imagine the overall effect of making, say, a home a foot or two higher. Verandahs and decks can ruin the look of an otherwise beautiful home if they’re too wide, narrow or long. The slope of an addition roof can either enhance or ruin the overall appearance of an entire house. Even window shape, proportions and placement have a huge influence on how your project looks. Finding the sweet spot for all these design details is what a scale drawing or model delivers, and it does this by letting you make mistakes on a tiny and manageable level. If something doesn’t look right, change the drawing or model until it does, then build the real thing with confidence.
MAXWELL’S S t u f f We L i k e
Despite years of experience, few builders that I’ve seen have the ability to fully imagine how a house or addition will look in 3D simply based on numbers and dimensions. Clients are typically much worse off in their ability to imagine building shapes ahead of time. That’s why creating some kind of scale rendering offers so much value. A sharp utility knife, some 3/16”-thick foam board, a roll of masking tape, a bottle of wood glue and a ruler are all you need to get started building models. Experiment with window size, door placement and roof pitch on the model. You’ll find a scale of 1/2-inch to the foot is ideal for most homebuilding projects. If you’re handy with computers, you can do the same thing on a screen using a program like Sketchup. Scale modeling and drawing has saved me from making big, ugly mistakes many times. That’s why I never build out of my head. Clients love the confidence of knowing ahead of time exactly how their projects will look.
Strateg y #2
from two adjoining sides, it almost always makes a space feel more inviting than the same space with light entering from one side only. This effect was first noted by the team of six authors from a design academy in Berkeley, Ca. who wrote the classic 1977 book called A Pattern Language. It’s one of the best-selling books in the history of architecture. Together this team scoured the globe looking for specific reasons why some regions, cities, towns, neighborhoods and buildings make people thrive and feel alive, while others don’t. They identified 253 specific “patterns,” the most useful for builders being the last ones in the book that have to do with exactly how building design affects the sense of well-being enjoyed by people. Pattern #159 notes how important light on two sides of a room is. It’s not always easy to do, and sometimes skylights or sun tunnels are needed to make it happen when windows can’t be used. But despite the hassles, the results are exceptional.
Strateg y #3
Encourage Steep and Interesting Roofs Let Light in from Two Sides of a Room Have you ever noticed how some indoor spaces look and feel terrific, while others seem ugly and sad? Why the difference? More often than not it’s about more than the quantity of light, but also the quality of light. When outdoor light enters a room
When manufactured roof trusses first became popular after WWII, roofs got flatter, plainer, easier to build and considerably uglier. Slowly but surely even truss roofs have been getting steeper and more interesting over the last 20 years. Not fast enough for my liking, but things are getting better. Computer-aided design means that truss manufacturers can
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MAXWELL’S S t u f f We L i k e
Build it Better now do a lot more than they could to accurately add gables, dormers and other interesting features to truss roofs with steep pitches. That’s why pleasing roofs are becoming more common. While it’s true that not all building budgets allow more than the cheapest possible roof, when people realize how much more beautiful and interesting steep and varied roof lines are, it’s surprising how budgets expand. Bigger budgets mean more work for you and a better billboard for your skills afterwards.
Strateg y #4
area immediately under the roofs was completely unusable. Complicated truss webbing and lack of foresight made this space forever inaccessible. A different roof structure would not only have more than doubled the living space in these homes, but it would have created coveted attic loft space – something that most people consider exceptionally premium living areas. Whether or not you like attic lofts yourself, a significant part of the Canadian population is crazy about them. I hear from these people all the time. Built right, attic spaces are inviting, mysterious, romantic and rare. They can also be built so they’re comfortable year round. The first key structural detail is adequate insulation of the roof structure. Build with SIPs or use spray foam between rafters. Either way will create a hot, unventilated roof surface. If you’re roofing with shingles, use fiberglass instead of organic asphalt. Fiberglass shingles have no problem lasting under extremely hot conditions that would cause organics to curl in 7 or 8 years.
Strateg y #5 Suggest Livable Attics Back in 2007, two large group homes were built about 25 miles from my house, and their design was both visually impressive and enormously wasteful. The total volume of space underneath the steep and beautiful roof structures totaled more than the volume of the entire living space within the walls, and yet the
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Create Transition Zones No matter how effective exterior doors get, there’s simply no
MAXWELL’S S t u f f We L i k e
Build it Better substitute for a transition zone between indoor and outdoor spaces. Builders of old knew this fact, and that’s why they built mudrooms, covered porches and awnings over doors. If ever there was a country that needed intentional transition zones between the warmth of indoors and the harsh realities of outside, Canada is it. Why we forgot this truth, I don’t know. But thankfully, I’m seeing more and more builders rediscover it. No one likes to step out of a house only to feel the full brunt of the elements inches away from the door handle. What you’re looking to create is a realm that’s neither completely inside nor outdoors, a space that eases the movements of people on a practical and visual level. Decks are a feeble attempt at this,
but the lack of a roof is like a hamburger without the patty. That’s why you should consider some type of covered entrance, verandah or mudroom in your projects. People are so starved for this kind of thing that they don’t even know enough to ask for it. Create transition zones and people will love you because they’ll love your work. None of these five strategies will ever show up on the radar of slap-happy contractors, but that’s fine. The fewer builders who use them, the better off it is for those who do. You can only shine by doing what your competitors ignore. And when it comes down to it, beautiful work is always a good thing to have on your side. cc
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full length stud
SIDE VIEW PORCH
See GABLE WALL/RAFTE R BLOCKING DETAIL
BEAM POCKET
SIDE VIEW 2x8 construction-g rade roof boards 2x10 ridge board 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" rafter support notches
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2x4 rafter supports
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2x6 rafters
2x10 eaves board
trim loft beam corners off after rafter installation
12" spikes driven predrilled holes in into beams
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short 6x6 porch beam
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6x6 porch post
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install this porch beam after siding installation 20’ 6x6 inner porch post
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counterbored hole flat washer and nut mortar for levelling 12”-16” nut
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8” long half lap joint 5/8” plywood wall sheathing 18” x 18” foundation pier
2x12 floor joists joist blocking
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3/4” pressure 3 1/2”-wide x 1 1/ treated plywood 2”-deep subfloor secured rafter support with construction adhesive notches and 2 1/2”-long screws every 8”
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8x12 floor beam
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13’ , 5 3/8” 1/4” hole for spike 45°
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MAXWELL’S PICKS
Milwaukee M12 FUEL HACKZALL Recip Saw Kit This saw is one of the best examples of how advances in battery technology boost jobsite efficiency. A lot smaller and lighter than a full-size recip saw, this 12 volt model is powerful enough for many of the operations you’d normally use a full-size 18 volt recip for. The cloth bag kit I’ve been using comes with a charger and 4.0 amphour battery that delivers better run time than standard 12 volt batteries. The blade is anchored with a rotating collar that’s easier to use than many competing saws, and the tool is ideal for single-handed use. It’s part of Milwaukee’s growing FUEL cordless tool category that includes tougher-than-usual lithium-ion batteries, smart charging systems and on-board overload protection. I’ve never seen any cordless platform perform better than FUEL. In my tests the cordless tools in this group work well down to -18ºC and are compatible with Milwaukee’s non-FUEL 12- and 18-volt batteries and chargers. Street price of $239 for the kit or $169 for the bare tool, this little recip saw is no gimmick. Watch Steve’s video tour at: goo.gl/7kal2O
DEWALT DCHJ064B Heated Jacket Kit Heated jackets have been around for a few years, but this year’s line-up from DEWALT includes three advances that earn a thumbs-up from me. Unlike original heated jackets that had no hood or those detachable hoods that are always unsnapping when you don’t want them to, the cotton twill khaki jacket in the DCHJ064B kit has a real hood that’s sewn right on. Also, the battery can be kept in the typical back battery pocket, or much more conveniently in the ordinary side pocket. You decide. Just re-route the wires through passages in the lining and the battery is right there next to your keys, easy to change. The battery holder also includes two USB ports so you can charge your hand-held or smartphone while keeping warm. The cotton twill fabric is nearly identical to my bullet-proof insulated coveralls and that’s tougher than most other heated jackets I’ve used. The fabric is more water repellent, too. Typical street price of $239 for the jacket and a 20-volt battery and charger. All DEWALT’s heated jackets accept both 12-volt and 20-volt batteries. Available at Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Amazon.ca Watch Steve’s video tour at: goo.gl/rRA1sy 56
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Get more at roxul.com or visit homedepot.ca/roxul for a complete series of ROXUL how-to videos.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
The Door Caper James, the site super for Simon’s contracting firm, was an ace employee. He needed hardly any supervision, freed up Simon to go hunt for new business, and had always appeared utterly trustworthy. Now he’s switched a door on a customer. What should Simon do? By Rob Koci
W
hen the custom-built front door arrived on site, James, the site supervisor, signed the delivery slip without looking too closely. He needed that door now and if it was wrong he didn’t want know about it amid the 15 other pressing issues he was facing that day. Well, the next day, James’ carpenter told him the door was not fine. It was the wrong size and it was also way too late to reorder. What was worse: It was James that made the mistake on the order. Typical of his proactive approach, James took the door to his shop, made a duplicate over the weekend (he was an excellent woodworker), took the manufacturer’s label off, stuck it on the door he had made and installed it himself the following Tuesday, all without a word to company
owner Simon. But the door soon warped. Now James was standing in front of Simon, head down, waiting. Simon was just off the phone to the manufacturer’s rep, who told him they couldn’t replace the door because they didn’t build it! Someone had pulled a fast one on him, said the rep, and now Simon knew who it was. James was an excellent employee. He was proactive. He hated to bother Simon on anything. He was loyal. Hiring James gave Simon his first chance at a holiday in ten years. But on this door switch – especially the label part – James has defrauded a customer. Simon wondered if he could even trust him any more. Simon didn’t know what to do. Tell us what you think he should do at right.
LAST ISSUE’S WINNER – “THREE’S A CROWD?” In our last issue, John Blanchard had to decide whether to continue a very lucrative house-flipping partnership with James Florian, who was introducing his brother-in-law into the partnership. Here is winner Mike from 4 Hire Handyman’s answer: “The answer is in the title of your segment, Three is a crowd. John, if you and your partner are clearing 80k on a flip why do you want to split it three ways? I can’t imagine that the legal fees on these transactions amounts to a third of the profit. From my point of view (outside looking in), your partner’s lawyer-friend is a well-educated person who can see a profitable partnership. Of course he wants in! You should think long and hard about the 17.5 per cent that you personally are giving up.”
WHAT SHOULD SIMON DO? 1. Fire James, tell the customer what happened and replace the door. 2. Fire James, not tell anyone, and replace the door. 3. Keep James, reprimand him, tell the customer and replace the door. 4. Keep James, reprimand him, not tell anyone, and replace the door. 5. Keep James, reprimand him, not tell anyone and make him pay for the new door. 6. Keep James, reprimand him but also tell him he does value him as an employee, not tell anyone and pay for the door.
HOW TO ENTER Let us know what you think Simon should do. Email publisher Rob Koci at rkoci@canadiancontractor.ca and tell us your answer. If you have an option number 7 with a completely different solution to the problem, please feel free. We will send a $100 gas card to the winner.
58
November/December 2014
www.canadiancontractor.ca
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