OHBA Past Presidents Weigh in on government legislation P.40 why you ’re about to be hacked P. 55
Sexual harassment: The thin line of workplace behaviour P. 21
short stories on OHBA’s longest-standing members P.46
Family LIFE New directions for multi-unit projects
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Contents
32 Child’s Play
Is there room to grow when it comes to accommodating young families in multi-unit projects?
FAIL ED 40 Presidential Perspectives
How have the past 15 years of Liberal legislation impacted the housing industry? Six OHBA presidents weigh in.
9 One Voice Pre-election educating and advocating for the industry 11 Ontario Report Sifton, Doug Tarry and Arista Homes lead the way at EnerQuality Awards, the 2018 OHBA calendar, IBE spring courses, touring the Netherlands and seeking your input before the next provincial election 19 Frame of Mind Could French minimalism curb new-home prices? ohba.ca
46 In the Beginning
Decades after setting up shop, they’re still going strong. Here are the stories of 10 of OHBA’s longest-standing members.
21 Inside Storey The #MeToo movement has shone a light on sexual harassment in the workplace. Cohen Highley LLP’s Kristin Ley helps make the picture even clearer 25 Top Shelf Some of the hottest items for builders, contractors and interior designers include an uplifting elevator design, a great grate line, shower technology with a nice touch and a plug-in system for electric vehicles.
55 Computer Breach
An HVAC company was involved in one of the largest computer breaches ever. Here’s why you should be worried too.
65 Building Buzz Uponor Pro Squad for plumbers, Empire’s new video series. OHBA reels in awards at U.S. Nationals and the latest moves in the industry 71 Product Focus An easily installed entry and an automated blind system that monitors your indoor environment highlight the latest in windows and doors 78 Words to Build By Stephen Tobey, Owner, Gordon Tobey Developments
ON THE COVER
As more and more young families in the GTA look to condos for homeownership, developers and designers need to keep their growing concerns in mind.
ontario home builder Spring 2018
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The official publication of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association SPRING 2018 | Vol. 34 Issue 2
Quality
editor
Reliability
Ted McIntyre ted@laureloak.ca
Va lue
associate editor
Norma Kimmins, OHBA
FIND OUT MORE
art director
Erik Mohr assistant art director
Ian Sullivan Cant Graphic Designer
Mantej Rakhra copy editor
Barbara Chambers contributors
Avi Friedman, Tracy Hanes, Dan O’Reilly, Joe Vaccaro advertising
Tricia Beaudoin, ext. 223 tricia@laureloak.ca Cindy Kaye, ext. 232 cindy@laureloak.ca publisher
Sheryl Humphreys, ext. 245 sheryl@laureloak.ca PRESIDENT
Wayne Narciso Published by
Laurel Oak Publishing laureloak.ca
ohba.ca Ontario Home Builder is published six times per year (Winter, Spring, Renovation, Summer, Fall, Awards). All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher © 2018. For address corrections please email info@laureloak.ca or phone: (905) 333-9432.
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One Voice
VOTE getting on track OHBA gears up for the Ontario election By J o e Vacc a r o
I have been told by our publisher that controversy is a good measure of readership engagement for a publication. If that is the case, then I think I can safely say that our Winter 2018 issue of Ontario Home Builder magazine was of keen interest to our readers. When the issue hit the stands, some of our members hit the send button on emails to us expressing their concerns and frustrations about the content of the first in a series of three articles leading up to the June 7 election in Ontario. The concept of the article was to ask 10 individuals—OHBA members and non-members—their opinions on five pieces of government legislation of interest to our industry, and to present the oftentimes differing perspectives. The subsequent “grading” used in the article was to reflect OHBA policy analysis—did the legislation do what it was supposed to? For example, did the Greenbelt Act protect one million acres of land, or did the Growth Plan result ohba.ca
“These past presidents are frank in their assessments of provincial housing policy.” in a ‘grow up, not out’ shift in housing? Unfortunately, we didn’t clearly communicate our intent. Mixing those two approaches left some members with the impression that the assigned grades served as an endorsement of the Liberal government. It was not an endorsement, and we immediately clarified that point in the digital issue of the magazine. OHBA has never endorsed any political party. We are a nonprofit and non-partisan association. What we do and will continue to do is educate, inform and advocate about
development, housing and renovation issues of concern to our members and the industry to all political parties, stakeholder groups, media and the general public. To that end, our second article in this series features some of our OHBA presidents who have served the association during the past 15 years of Liberal government. In “Presidential Perspectives” on page 40, these past presidents are outspoken and frank in their assessments of provincial government housing policy, including how it has impacted the industry, their communities, their businesses and sales centre visits, as well as the aspiring homebuyer. Our final article, planned for OHB’s upcoming Renovation issue, will be published in May, after the election writ is dropped. That feature will explore the housing platforms of the competing parties and how they sync —or don’t—with OHBA’s perspective on what is best for our industry and homebuyers. OHBA continues to advocate for more housing supply and choice. A few months ago on social media and Buildingcommunities.ca, OHBA informed the government that Ontario needed #MoreHomesNotPolitics. We presented facts and local examples across the province of what happens when politics gets in the way of building more housing. Following up on that initiative, OHBA has also just launched our #HomeBeliever social media campaign to encourage Ontario citizens to let government know how strongly they believe in the dream of homeownership. Visit homebeliever.ca for details on how you can support this campaign and other advocacy plans as we move into the election cycle. OHB
joe vaccaro is the CEO of the ontario home builders’ association
ontario home builder Spring 2018
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Ontario Report
ONTARIO’S GREEN BUILDING WINNERS
EnerQuality Housing Innovation Awards honour leaders in sustainable housing
Above: EnerQuality Award winners celebrate their honours. Top right: OHBA Past President Bob Finnigan (far right) presents Sifton Properties with the Ontario Green Builder of the Year Award. Right: EnerQuality President Corey McBurney with Hall of Fame inductee Larry Brydon and Marco Pisterzi of Cricket Energy.
O
ntario’s best Green Builders were celebrated at the EnerQuality Awards Gala held on February 22 in Vaughan. The honourees included 2017 Hall of Fame Inductee Larry Brydon, V.P. of Business Development with Cricket Energy. Larry has been in the HVAC distribution and energy services market for more than 25 years. A past chair of Sustainable Buildings Canada and the Toronto Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council, he currently serves on the board of directors for the Canadian Efficiency Alliance, the International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment, Sustainable Buildings Canada and EnerQuality. Among his many achievements, Larry led the Enbridge and Union Gas Savings by Design program. This initiative has participated in over 200 low-rise and 50 high-rise developer design charrettes where they shared energy-efficient design alternatives resulting in 15-25% energy improvement over the Ontario Building Code. Doug Tarry of Doug Tarry Custom Homes Ltd. was recognized as the 2017 Leader of the Year in recognition of propelling the company’s holistic Net Zero housing concepts with simple controls designed to allow homeowners to save money while living in a healthy environment. In addition to the EnerQuality Award the company won the inaugural Net Zero Builder Award from the Canadian Home Builders’ Association in 2017. The firm also claimed numerous Awards
ohba.ca
of Distinction from the Ontario Home Builders’ Association last year, including the prestigious 2017 Project of the Year (Low-Rise) for Project Hope, where, for the first time, a Net Zero home was built in just three days. The project also raised funds for the family of the late Johnny Nooren, a building inspector from St. Thomas. The 2017 Impact Award was presented to Arista Homes Ltd., recognizing the builders’ significant voluntary progress in reducing carbon emission and outstanding achievements through energy-efficient and sustainability practices. “Green initiatives and Energy Star participation have become staples of our building practices and we remain committed to continuing to improve our building practices and to lead by example,” says Arista Franco Crispino, V.P. of Sales and Marketing, whose company has enrolled more than 1,200 Energy Star homes since 2009. The highly competitive Innovation Gauntlet rounded out the day before the official Award ceremony, with IBC Technologies Inc. being named the winner for its newest innovation, IBC Better Boilers. “The IBC Better Boiler product is a forward thinking, adaptable technology with integration to smart homes,” says Shaun Joffe, executive director of Sustainability & Building Sciences at Great Gulf and judge of the Innovation Gauntlet participants. “This is a truly unique product and was a clear leader in this year’s submissions.” (See following page for more winners.) ontario home builder Spring 2018
11
Ontario Report
EnerQuality Award Winners Ontario Green Builder of the Year
Energy Star for New Homes Builder of the Year (Small volume)
Sifton Properties
sean.ca (Sean Mason Homes)
Building Innovation Low-Rise
Great Gulf Homes Ltd
Energy Star for New Homes Builder of the Year (Mid-volume)
Building Innovation Mid/High-Rise
Remington Homes
Times Group Corporation
Energy Star for New Homes Builder of the Year (Large volume)
The Minto Group
Energy Star Champion of the Year
Best Green Marketing Campaign
Jacqueline Collier, Tamarack Homes
Doug Tarry Custom Homes Ltd
R-2000 Home Builder of the Year
Partner Award
RND Construction Net Zero Home Builder of the Year
Reid’s Heritage Homes
Enbridge Gas Distribution, Union Gas and Owens Corning
Evaluator of the Year
Angela Bustamante, Building Knowledge Builder Achievement Award
Shaun Joffe, Great Gulf Homes Ltd.
Enbridge Savings By Design Award
Remington Homes
Local Association Events 2018
Date
Event
Association
Contact
Contact Phone Number
March 9-18
National Home Show
BILD
Tiffany Kohl
(416) 391-3446
March 13-15
Stratford Home and Leisure Show
Stratford and Area
Ross Dale
(519) 271-4795
March 21-23
St. Thomas & Elgin Home Show
St. Thomas & Elgin
Amanda Koning
(226) 289-9710
March 23
Build Brantford Industry Luncheon
Brantford
Fred DeCator
(519) 755-9690
March 29
Housing Design Awards
Peterborough & Kawarthas
John Milne
(705) 876-7604
April 1
Playhouse Build and Action
Niagara
Ronya Ripenburg
(905) 646-6281
April 6-8
Quinte Home and Lifestyle Show
Quinte
Ruth Estwick
(613) 970-2216
April 19
Awards of Excellence
Durham Region
Stacy Hawkins
(905) 579-8080
April 19
Hamilton-Halton Awards of Distinction
Hamilton-Halton
Cindy McIntosh
(905) 575-3344 x3
April 22
OHBA Industry Leaders Dinner
OHBA
Sajida Jiwani
(416) 443-1545 x222
April 24
Building Innovation Trade Show
Greater Ottawa
Nicole McCallion
(613) 723-2926 x222
April 26
SAM Awards of Distinction
Waterloo Region
Hayley Hopkins
(519) 884-7590
April 27-28
Annual Parade of Homes
Stratford and Area
Ross Dale
(519) 271-4795
May 2
24th Annual Industry Luncheon
Guelph & District
Melissa Jonker
(519) 836-8560
May 4
BILD Awards
BILD
Tiffany Kohl
(416) 391-3446
May 15
Wall of Fame
Niagara
Ronya Ripenburg
(905) 646-6281
June 10-14
OHBA Netherlands Housing Study Tour
OHBA
Mike Collins-Williams
(416) 443-1545
July 11
BILD Race for Humanity & Charity BBQ
BILD
Tiffany Kohl
(416) 391-3446
Sept. 20
Sub-Trades Appreciation BBQ
Sarnia-Lambton
Kelly McCoy
(519) 344-7422
Sept. 23-25
OHBA Conference in Ottawa
OHBA
Sajida Jiwani
(416) 443-1545 x222
Sept. 28-30
Fall Home Show
BILD
Tiffany Kohl
(416) 391-3446
Sept. 29
15th Annual Industry Luncheon
Stratford and Area
Ross Dale
(519) 271-4795
Oct. 11
Awards of Creative Excellence Gala
London
Lois Langdon
(519) 686-0343
Oct. 19
Residential Awards of Excellence
Sudbury & District
Laura Higgs
(705) 671-6099
Oct. 20
Housing Design Awards Gala
Greater Ottawa
Nicole McCallion
(613) 723-2926 x222
Dec. 1
Christmas Auction & Presidents Charity
Quinte
Ruth Estwick
(613) 970-2216
12
ontario home builder Spring 2018
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Ontario Report
IBE SPRING COURSE SCHEDULE The Ontario Home Builders’ Association and our Institute of Building Excellence (IBE) is committed to providing professional development opportunities for the residential construction industry. With a focus on updating and development of new training programs, we continue to raise the level of professionalism and set a high standard for this important economic sector. The most effective way this can be done is through a certification program, providing builders and renovators with something tangible they can use to promote their business and keep a competitive edge in today’s economy.
Upcoming courses include: Marketing and Project Sales Location: OHBA offices, North York Date: March 22 Instructor: Richard Luciani
Building Science for Renovations Location: OHBA offices, North York Date: April 5 Instructor: Greg Labbe
Tarion Customer Service and Warranty * Location: OHBA offices, North York Date: April 12 Instructor: Victor Fiume
Project Management and Site Supervision * Location: OHBA offices, North York Date: April 26 Instructor: Greg Labbe
Financial Management * Location: OHBA offices, North York Date: May 10 Instructor: Jean-Pierre Seguin
* Courses approved by Tarion Warranty Corporation. These courses are required to obtain warranty coverage. Get ahead of the competition and start fulfilling your training requirements today! All course fees are $350 (include final exam). Visit learnyourliving.ca today for further information and to enrol. 14
ontario home builder Spring 2018
Join OHBA in The Netherlands OHBA is excited to announce this year’s International Housing Study Tour destination: The Netherlands, a country known for its flat landscape peppered with canals, tulip fields, windmills, cycling routes and, of course, thriving cities! OHBA will be travelling with a small group of builder and developer members to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a strong focus on modern architecture, energy sustainability, panelized building envelope systems and active transportation within complete communities. This will be a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for members to take in the culture of these two fantastic Dutch cities, while connecting directly with the most innovative and leading-edge residential and mixed-use development sites in Western Europe. We are pleased to be joined by partnering sponsor EnerQuality and joint organizing sponsors Cricket Energy and Ozz Electric, each of which will have staff members on hand as educational resources with building science expertise on sustainability. The June 10-14 tour will feature local guides, meetings with housing, planning and building officials, architectural walking tours, development site tours and a dinner boat cruise of Amsterdam’s famous canals. For more information please contact OHBA’s Director of Policy, Mike Collins-Williams at mikecw@ohba.ca.
ohba.ca
Ontario Report
Preparing for Ontario’s Election It’s not just politicians that are in election mode—so is OHBA! With less than three months before Ontarians go the polls, we are ratcheting up our efforts to get our messaging out to candidates from all political parties as well as the media and voters. Lack of housing choice and affordability issues continue to make the news across the province and it is critical that OHBA’s views, as the voice of the building, land development and professional renovation industry, are heard. Our perspective and expertise can provide practical ideas and workable solutions on housing issues of concern to our industry and Ontario families. We started off our advocacy push in November 2017, when we launched the #MoreHomesNotPolitics social media campaign, where we supplied
facts and figures that illustrate the consequences of putting politics before good planning. More recently we kicked off our #HomeBeliever social media effort— targeting both the public as well as candidates—and we encourage OHBA members to jump on board with this advocacy work as well. What is a #HomeBeliever? It’s the millennial who has been working hard and saving to put a deposit down on a home that is close to work or transit. It’s the senior who is looking forward to retirement but is caught in a financial dilemma between expensive accommodation near their children or settling for a less expensive option many miles away from their core community. A #HomeBeliever is a neighbour who will not give up on the dream of homeownership because he or she understands the life-long value
of living, working and playing in a community of choice. Whether low-rise, high-rise, midrise or innovative laneway housing, in communities east, west, south, north or central in Ontario, it’s time to show all levels of government that we believe in the great Canadian dream and that we are home believers. Help the conversation by adding your voice and express why homeownership matters to you! Visit homebeliever.ca for more information. On April 10, OHBA will host its Queen’s Park Advocacy Day, where the OHBA executive, board, local association presidents and executive officers will meet with current MPPs from all parties to present our views and perspective on housing, land development and renovation issues of concern to our members. Expect lots more communication from OHBA through our Election Watch newsletter, liaison work with your local association and on our micro-websites in the weeks ahead. But prior to the official election, we’d like to poll OHB magazine readers about what you think about a few issues. Make your voice heard! Complete this survey online at ohba. ca/member-survey. Key findings will be published in the next magazine issue.
What do YOU think about the 2018 Provincial Election? Four more years or time for a fresh start? Make your voice heard on priority industry issues Fill out the survey at ohba.ca/member-survey
16
ontario home builder Spring 2018
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Frame of Mind
Do-it-yourself homes French minimalism looks to curb new-home prices Can you do without some of your home’s interior walls, doors, closets and kitchen cabinets? “No!” you might say. How else can the space be divided, and where will your belongings be stored? But would you trade these ‘essentials’ for a lower-cost new-home unit? With the average price of a home in most Canadian urban centres now exceeding the financial means of many young households, a new generation is watching their homeownership dreams fade away. So how can we bring the cost of housing down? While some price components, such as financing, land cost and infrastructure, are beyond buyers’ and, often, builders’ control, two items are indeed subject to buyer choice, builder willingness and municipal approval: size and content. For example, do all buyers need a fully loaded home? I don’t think so. Singles, couples without kids, some traditional families and even downsizing boomers ohba.ca
might be interested in buying less for less. For example, what if they could buy an empty shell hooked up to all utilities and do the rest themselves? In France, they’re doing just that. La Cité Manifeste is a demonstration project of affordable housing designed by five architectural teams in Mulhouse, France, including famed designers Shigeru Ban and Jean Nouvel. Each team was assigned a section of the development. Of the designs, the units by the firm of Lacaton and Vassal are arguably the most creative in lowering cost. They employ an innovative mix of industrial materials and made an effort to minimize expensive interior work. The ground floor consists of simple concrete slabs, columns and beams. The empty warehouse-like structure maximizes volume and offers occupants the potential to do whatever they want to it. Above this shell, standard greenhouse elements provide a second-storey living
space linked to the lower levels via internal spiral stairs. These galvanized steel structures are clad in corrugated polycarbonate panels. The southernmost band was left uninsulated, functioning as a winter garden. Large windows allow natural ventilation during the summer to cut cooling bills. What’s most intriguing about the project is the first floor’s interior. Lightweight partition walls act independently from the shell, separating the block into 14 units varying in size from 1,098 to 1,884 sq. ft. At times oblique, these party walls are offset to provide varying amounts of first- and second-storey living spaces for each unit. The dwellings maintain an open concept with an exposed concrete ceiling and floors. This minimalist approach provides a canvas for future occupants to develop their unit according to their budget, taste and spatial needs. Some loft-like units have no walls at all (except the bathroom, of course). Each occupant chose to divide their empty space and locate the rooms differently. Kitchen cabinets and their location are also unique to each. Some built their own or obtained used cabinets, others bought them from a local reno store and a few engaged a company to build and install only the pieces they truly needed. Similarly, the second floor was also left to the buyers’ imagination, with varying furniture arrangements and decor. La Cité Manifeste is important for its creative thinking, as well as the savings: One unit costs the same as an apartment half its size in the neighbourhood. Given the distinctive balance of the units’ spaciousness and affordability, it’s little wonder why they have proven particularly attractive to families. It’s a major departure in design philosophy, but it shows that more people can be brought into the homeownership fold when buyers are willing to do with less, builders are ready to offer innovative designs and municipalities are prepared to approve those plans. OHB Dr. Avi Friedman is an architect, professor and social observer. He can be reached at avi.friedman@mcgill.ca.
ontario home builder Spring 2018
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Inside Storey number of incidents out there, but there is an increase in reporting. The victims might be feeling there’s more support in coming forward, and employers are becoming more educated in what their obligations are under the Ontario Human Rights Code and Occupational Health and Safety Act, and recognize how an incident of harassment in the workplace could affect their business and other employees. I suppose it’s more common in traditionally malemajority industries?
Tolerance does seem to vary depending on the particular industry, especially ones historically occupied by males. But even there it’s starting to become more socially unacceptable and not tolerated. I’ve seen an increase in complaints coming out of the construction industry.
a touchy subject The #MeToo movement has shone a light on sexual harassment in the workplace By Ted McIntyre with Kristin Ley, Partner, Cohen Highley LLP Lawyers
CHBA member Shawna Henderson doesn’t mince words when it comes to the sexual harassment she’s experienced in the construction field. “We need to alter the culture of the industry. It has always been the elephant in the room,” wrote Henderson, the CEO of Blue House Energy in Nova Scotia, in her December blog. “Sexism and misogynistic attitudes are rampant in the industry, and to call it out can mean taking your career in your hands.” Construction and home building, alas, remains a male-heavy world, with Statistics Canada noting that men account for 88% of the workforce. And you don’t have to be on a worksite to be the subject of sexual harassment; the #MeToo movement has also shone a spotlight inside office walls. That includes legislation (Bill C58) now being considered to prevent and address workplace harassment in ohba.ca
federally-regulated workplaces. While what exactly constitutes ‘crossing the line’ seems like a grey area for many, the Ontario Human Rights Code defines sexual harassment as “engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought to be known to be unwelcome.” Examples include something as blatant as asking for sex in exchange for a benefit or favour, to repeatedly asking for dates and not taking “no” for an answer, to making sexual comments in the workplace. Kristin Ley, a partner at Cohen Highley LLP Lawyers in London, has recognized a trend. OHB: With media exposure, has there been an uptick in sexual harassment cases? Kristin Ley: I don’t think there’s
necessarily an increase in the actual
Are women more vulnerable since they often hold lower-status jobs?
There’s data to support that. But anyone can be a victim of workplace harassment, whether sexual or otherwise. It often results in a delay in the victim coming forward and reporting because of the position they were in—since someone had the power to terminate their employment. A lot of those cases attract pretty high general damages payments, because someone endured this for several years. what are some examples of inappropriate conduct?
Sexual gestures, comments, crude language, joke telling—even in the preface before a sexually explicit joke to a woman in the room. For example, saying, “No offence,” then proceeding to tell a joke that’s offensive toward that woman or someone else who might identify or be offended or embarrassed. What offends one person might not offend another.
It’s subjective, both from the victim’s perspective and the person being accused of the inappropriate behaviour. But we have a very objective standard ontario home builder Spring 2018
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when looking at these issues. The test asks whether a reasonable person in each of their positions would find that the conduct would be unwelcome. Would the person being accused understand that it would be unwelcomed? Sometimes there’s a question of the level of participation that the victim has had to date. Have they been exchanging the same kinds of jokes? That becomes relevant. But at the same time, it doesn’t matter whether or not someone intended to offend—their motives aren’t part of that test. Even making comments about someone who’s not there can land you in hot water if that third party learns about the comment. The fact that they were being spoken about in a sexualized manner gives them cause for a sexual harassment action. As an example, there was a case of a landlord speaking to a superintendent about a tenant’s physical characteristics, and the tenant found out about it, filed a claim and was awarded damages for the insult to her dignity. Along those lines, there has also been an increase in reporting from bystanders in the workplace—people who aren’t actually the subject of the comments but who have observed it. does it cross the line to leer at a coworker walking by in an attractive outfit?
Even that verb “leer” has a connotation that suggests sexual interest or malintent. The argument is that there’s the use of sexuality to intimidate or embarrass—to make them feel vulnerable. It’s not gender- or sexual orientationspecific. Someone could be perceived to be homosexual and the same kind of leering could be offensive. What are some of the more common offences?
A lot of cases I’ve worked on have involved inappropriate jokes. Pornography and sexually explicit materials is a big one—either being forwarded in emails or shown to other employees on cell phones. People don’t always think it is inappropriate because they think they’re just forwarding an email to everybody and we’ll all have a good laugh about it. 22
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And there’s no such thing as an innocent shoulder rub!
Context is always so important, but in the work environment, there’s usually no reason to be touching someone else. What steps should be taken after a complaint is lodged?
As soon as an employer becomes aware, there’s a duty to act quickly to ascertain the facts. Larger companies might have a human resources department that can handle that sort of thing, while smaller ones have to ask themselves if they’re able to conduct an objective investigation, or if they need to get an independent third party involved. A written warning in the employee’s file might be appropriate as part of a graduated discipline process. You might consider retraining that employee on any workplace policies you have with respect to human rights and workplace harassment. The Human Right Commission also has online materials and videos. Depending on the severity, dismissal might be called for. First and foremost, a court will look to see if an employer has a policy against workplace harassment, which will support the fact that they are aware of their obligations and that this sort of thing could potentially occur. Beyond the awareness, the policy should include a reporting procedure: Did the victim know what avenues were available after being subjected to this sort of conduct? Then the court will ask if there were alternatives. For example, if the supervisor you’d normally report to is the actual offender, what is the secondary reporting plan? The court wants to see the process from start to finish. Potential damages are big.
It can affect the bottom line and the brand. There are the damages paid by the employer. And you lose productivity during the investigation with people being pulled away to answer questions, or into court if there’s a lawsuit. Then you have the potential loss of talented employees, including some who feel this environment is not for them. The victim may not want to work there anymore. Maybe the accused whom you had to let go was one of your best employees. And there’s the expense of searching for, hiring and retraining new employees. OHB ohba.ca
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BU I L D S M A R T. 9 out of 10 homebuyers recognize the value of a smart home.*
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Top Shelf I de a s for B u i l de r s & R e n ovat or s
who’s in charge?
FLO comes to the aid of electric vehicles p. 30
ELEVATE YOUR DESIGNS Ideal for new home builds or renovations, the Savaria Vuelift has an integrated hoistway for flexibility of placement, making it convenient for today, but with accessibility for tomorrow—all without compromising vision. The modular design is perfect for penthouses and simple to install, with lightweight components that fit easily through standard doors and hallways. Clients will enjoy panoramic views of their home and a chic look that comes without the complexity and cost of customization. SAVARIA.COM ohba.ca
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Top Shelf Do You Take Your Coffee Black? Wish you could brew your morning coffee from the comfort of your bed? The GE Café Keurig refrigerator features a built-in Keurig K-Cup brewing system. The fridge’s WiFi connectivity allows you to preheat hot water via a smartphone app. Its Black Slate finish, exclusive to GE Appliances, is a bold yet approachable dark charcoal matte that hides fingerprints and smudges. Geappliances.ca
A Grate Day for Schluter A stylish series of new shower drain grates from Schluter-Systems feature designs that fit into a virtually invisible frame, resulting in a seamless look for shower floors. Three new designs are available for both the standard 4” square-point drains and for Schluter’s linear drains in lengths from 20” to 48”. The grates do not contain any screw holes, adding to the seamless appearance.
Radon Monitoring When You Need It Promising energy savings of up 80%, Radostat from Radon Environmental is an active, on-demand radon mitigation solution. ETL-approved and featuring the latest patented nuclear sensor technology, it uses a building’s existing HRV/ ERV to keep radon levels low, activating only as needed at a peak of 150 Bq/m3 (4.0 pCi/L). The product is also minimally invasive and ideal for retrofit or new-build scenarios. Radoncorp.com
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Wall of Fame The introduction of Unilock’s U-Cara multi-face wall system combines easy installation with an ever-expanding palette of design colours and finishes. Walls are built with the SureTrack Backer Block and U-Cara Fascia panels, allowing for a variety of pattern, colour and texture combinations not possible with other wall systems. This lightweight, easy-to-use system can construct one or two-sided walls and even be engineered for high walls. Unilock.com 26
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Framing the Picture Vaughan’s Window City is welcoming demand for large windows and doors by including structural mullion reinforcement for its oversized in-house creations. A vertical or a horizontal connecting unit between two or more windows or doors, Window City’s patented PVC mullions feature steel reinforcement to add strength, performance and security, while also controlling the rate of expansion to preserve the rigidity of large frame sections. Windowcity.com Touch Technology Showers in the Forecast American Standard’s first-tomarket Spectra+Touch showerhead technology allows users to change spray patterns with a touch of the fixture itself or on the convenient remote. The Spectra+ eTouch showerhead includes a remote that mounts on any shower surface for users who have difficulty reaching the showerhead due to age, height or mobility restrictions. Both the showerhead and remote are powered by easily accessible batteries in the units. Americanstandard.ca
Making an Airtight Case Maximizing insulation performance and wall airtightness, Isolofoam’s air-barrier/non-vapour barrier Isoclad insulation panel features an integrated spunbonded high-density polyethylene fibre membrane (DuPont Tyvek HomeWrap). Designed for exterior insulation of above ground walls, the membrane can also be customized to show your company logo and increase your brand awareness. It also promises decreased labour time, as it is easy to install. Isolofoam.com 28
ontario home builder Spring 2018
Making Light Work Festool’s new STL 450 Surface Inspection Light puts light close to the surface to let professional craftsmen see flaws and defects before their customers do. Ideal for a broad range of applications spanning wall finishes, painting, drywalling, countertops and wood finishes, its 1,500lumen strength brings extraordinary brightness and colour to any surface. Impact-resistant, it can be used as a hand-held device or mounted on a tripod. Festoolcanada.com ohba.ca
Top Shelf
Charge It! With the accommodation of electric vehicles fast becoming the norm instead of the exception, FLO, the Canadian leader in electric vehicle charging solutions, offers smart charging stations for both single-family houses and multi-unit residential buildings. Made in Canada and designed to endure harsh conditions, the units are equipped with built-in energy management features to reduce electricity and installation costs. Flo.ca
Laid-Back Appeal The classic, freestanding bateau bath gets a modern twist in the Trivento from Victoria + Albert. Featuring a fine rim and a deep, double-ended bathing well, it’s equally at home in city apartments or family bathrooms. Designed to provide support for a luxurious bathing experience, it measures 22-7/8” high by 27-7/8” wide and 65” long, and is crafted from the brand’s signature EnglishCast composition, rich in volcanic limestone. Vandabaths.com Low Profile is the Weiser Choice Projecting less than an inch off the door, Weiser’s new Obsidian is the lowest profile smart lock in the industry. Eliminating the need for traditional keys, the Obsidian’s dark, sleek touchscreen quickly illuminates upon touch for faster code entry and features patented SecureScreen technology to help prevent unwanted entry. Weiserlock.com
Drain Drain, Go Away From keeping drain flies and other insects from entering your living/work environment to the prevention of odours and gases, the Green Drain is a chemical-free waterless trap for floor drains. Snapping into place without the need for tools, its one-way valve allows water to easily go down into the drain, while preventing anything escaping from below. Four flexible silicone sealing ribs ensure a complete fit in varying sizes. Greendrain.com 30
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Decorated in vibrant colours and supplied with toys, the Daniels’ Corporation’s DuEast in Toronto’s Regent Park features a kids’ zone for play, craft-making and reading.
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Child’s Play The challenge of affordability means more young GTA families are turning to condo living By T r ac y H a n e s
W
hen Jeanhy Shim, her husband and their then-toddler moved into a condo in Bathurst Quay in Toronto seven years ago, they were the only young family in the 360-unit building. “There are easily a couple of dozen families there now, with kids from babies to teens,” says Shim, founder of Housing Lab Toronto, an independent housing research thinktank, and a consultant on more than 100 residential projects in the GTA. While families raising kids in condos was fairly rare a decade ago, it’s a trend that is gaining momentum in Toronto and some parts of the GTA, fuelled both by the affordability challenge of other housing options and by some urbanites’ desire to stay close to their jobs and city amenities after they become parents. While some condo developers are addressing this market niche, according to a November 2017 report, Bedrooms in the Sky by Ryerson City Building Institute and Urbanation, not enough family-friendly units are being constructed in the GTA to meet the expected boom in demand over the next decade, as 35- to 44-year-olds seek family-friendly housing of two bedrooms or more in size. The raising-kids-in-condos phenomenon hasn’t yet caught on in any significant way in other Ontario urban centres. One reason is that single and townhouse prices remain relatively affordable in areas such as Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton, and those types of homes remain the preference for buyers with families. The big wave of family buyers may not have even hit Toronto yet, contend some developers. “I wouldn’t call it a surge,” notes Jim Ritchie, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at Tridel. “Is there a trend or are more people considering it, though? I’d say yes.” ohba.ca
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“We are starting to see families move in, but it’s not nearly the majority of buyers yet,” echoes Dominic Tompa of Daniels Corp. “They are at least a measurable part of who’s buying in downtown and even in City Centre in Mississauga.” “We’ve definitely seen a steady rise in demand in the past 10 years, and in the next 10 years it will be much more significant and will happen really quickly,” says Jared Menkes, vice-president of high-rise residential for Menkes Developments. “For example, there are 50,000 people living in King West (in downtown Toronto) and they are starting to couple up. There will be a rise in families in that neighbourhood and not all are going to move to the suburbs. Some want that dream, but not everyone does.” Shim and her husband were among those who didn’t aspire to the suburban dream. They knew they wanted to stay downtown and would be raising their child in a condo, even though there were no amenities for children in their building. When her now nine-yearold daughter was younger, Shim and other moms would gather in the condo’s party room and bring toys and snacks; and their neighbourhood is well served with parks, greenspace and trails. Menkes can relate. He and his wife raised two of their three kids
in a condo before moving to a house. “When I was single and living in a condo, my neighbours had a young son and they didn’t have enough space for him to play in their suite, so he’d play in the hall,” says Menkes. “Other people would bring their kids to the gym, where it could be dangerous for them and they might cause a disturbance.” That’s why it’s important to have dedicated amenities for children, says Menkes. “They shouldn’t be running around adult-type spaces.” Menkes Developments was among the first condo developers to incorporate dedicated child-friendly amenities with The Eglinton. Their midtown Toronto building includes a child’s play area, designed with input from child development experts Ellen Yack and Cindy Smolkin. When buyers move in later this year, young residents will enjoy an outdoorsy-themed, glass-fronted, 400-square-foot room with areas for kids and parents to read, listen to music or play. The company has also included large indoor and outdoor kids’ spaces at its Harbour Plaza development in the South Core Financial District. Tridel is providing amenities
“We’ve definitely seen a steady rise in demand in the past 10 years”
Menkes was among the first to incorporate dedicated childfriendly amenities with The Eglinton in midtown Toronto, designed with input from child development experts.
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for two different age groups in some of its buildings, with children’s zones for young kids, as well as wifi cafés where teens can socialize and plug in their devices. Tridel’s West Village at Etobicoke includes a children’s zone, while its Islington Terrace at Bloor and Islington includes a play room, outdoor play area and splash zone. The Wesley Tower in Mississauga and Wyatt and DuEast condos in Toronto, all Daniels projects, will have kids’ zones for play, craft-making and reading and are supplied with toys. Wesley has indoor and outdoor play spaces with slides, and a glassed-in room for parents to supervise from. Condo play rooms for kids typically are decorated in bright, primary colours and include indoor climbers, low chairs and tables, toys and comfortable seating to snuggle with parents. At the downtown Concord CityPlace master-planned community (bordered by Bathurst St., Lake Shore Blvd. and Front St.), Harbour View Estates condos share a SuperClub with a basketball court, outdoor playground and pool where kids can take private swim lessons. The sod has been turned for the Canoe Landing Centre, to include new Catholic and public schools, a daycare centre and community centre, with opening slated for late 2019.
FAMILY PLANNING Daycare is also becoming a larger consideration in multi-unit developments. While not yet incorporated into stand-alone towers, they are popping up in the design of master-planned or mixed-use condo communities. A new daycare, for example, is being constructed at CityPlace. There is also a new facility in the Emerald City neighbourhood of North York. And daycare centres
Ladybugs dot the wall at Concord Adex’s Exchange Condos at Cityplace.
A Family-Friendly Checklist Five recommendations for builders to ensure a positive condo environment for growing children By J e a n h y Sh i m , P r e s i d e n t, H o u s i n g L a b To r o n t o
1. Bike racks/storage/lockers for more than one bike (which is the current City requirement). Most condo rules do not allow bikes inside the building (i.e., in suites or on balconies), so there’s a need to provide a viable solution. I know in my building, the condo board had to find spaces in our underground to squeeze in as many bike racks as possible and encourage parking spot owners to purchase vertical bike racks as well. Assume at least two to four bikes per ‘family’ unit. 2. Large ‘usable’ balconies or terraces for family apartments to provide functional spaces for kids to play outdoors when they
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are younger (i.e., before they are old enough to play unsupervised). These balconies/terraces should be large enough to accommodate a small sandbox or splash pool or playhouse, etc. Further, outdoor spaces are also great for gardening, plants, etc., which are important for young kids to be exposed to. 3. An in-suite storage room or oversized walk-in front hall closet to also store strollers, tricycles, wagons, push bikes, sandbox toys, water toys, etc. I remember in our first condo—a 700 sq.ft. 1B+D—when my daughter was born, we stored the huge stroller in
the kitchen/den right at the front door, since there was no entry foyer or even a closet. An alternative is a common stroller/gear storage room on every floor that’s accessible by residents on that floor only to store oversized gear.
‘perfect.’ But private common-area open green spaces and natural/wild spaces are important for kids to just run around all year long. Easy access to amenity washrooms is also a must-have so that families don’t have to run upstairs to their units.
4.An outdoor amenity area with real grass that is dog-free and with benches and lots of natural shade, gardens, etc.—a place where families with young kids can relax outside on a picnic blanket in the grass. Maybe adjacent to a BBQ area. There’s a tendency these days to ‘hardscape’ or ‘landscape/plant’ everything for ease of maintenance and to make everything so
5. Swimming pools! One of the key life skills that most parents want their kids to learn is water safety and swimming. Sure, they can take kids for lessons, but having access to a pool is not only great for kids but also overall family health. And they don’t have to be Olympic-sized scale or quality—just one depth and large enough for a bunch of kids/ families to splash around and enjoy.
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Planning for the New Wave
The Urban Yards of the Rockport Group’s George Condos in Leslieville provide safe places to play with extradeep, recessed balconies.
Child-sized seating, safe places to climb and imagination-stirring designs at Tridel’s Wyatt Condos in Toronto.
also dot Regent Park and Maple Leaf Square, among others. As important as such amenities, however, are the actual suite sizes and designs. “When you design suites with families in mind, their needs are exactly the same as empty-nesters in terms of space and storage,” says Shim. “That makes it interesting. They both want large functional kitchens, places to gather with family and storage.” “A lot of condo developers in the past never lived in a condo and didn’t know how to build and design for families,” says Menkes. “When you have kids and live in a condo, it’s the little things that matter, like where do you put the broom and vacuum, or where can you store the stroller?” That’s one reason Menkes’ 87 Peter Street condo in downtown Toronto will have lockers on the same floor as suites, so parents can store all the equipment that kids require. Tridel is designing entryways that are big enough for strollers and looking at double-sized laundry rooms that can hold shelves, cupboards and ironing boards. However, Ritchie notes that to accommodate these type of features, something has to give in terms of floor plans, such as the ensuite bathroom. Designing larger suites is the easy part. Finding the balance between delivering what the market may need down the road while making projects economically viable for developers is a more delicate issue. 36
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According to Bedrooms in the Sky by Ryerson City Building Institute and Urbanation, there will be a significant boom in 35- to 44-year-olds seeking family-friendly housing of at least two bedrooms in Toronto over the next decade. However, construction is still geared to one-bedroom units and fewer two-bedroom units are being built proportionately than ever before. While more three-bedroom units are being constructed, resale prices are steep, at $900,000-plus. The report found just 41% of condominiums under construction or in preconstruction in the GTA have at least two bedrooms—that’s down from 67% in buildings completed in the 1990s. The report found that most families don’t want to live in tall high-rises, but in the next five years, most housing units coming online in the city will be in buildings that are 20 storeys or more in height. Only 9% of condos under development in the central city are mid-rise and low-rise, down from 29% in the 1990s. That may prompt a shift towards more mid-rise and low-rise buildings in the GTA, but the greatest need is in the city close to transit, jobs, schools and services. Alas, growing demand for family-friendly units may force young families to look outside the city and face longer commutes.
“We are designing buildings and suites to accommodate families, but it’s not without its challenges,” observes Ritchie, who says making suites bigger bucks the trend towards smaller units. “Those (small suites) are targeted to single people or couples, but that’s leaving out other segments in the market. Many people in the condo industry love buildings that sell out quickly. Buildings to suit families have to be marketed differently and you have to be patient about selling. Investors aren’t interested in those types of units.” “It’s a tough issue,” agrees Menkes. “At the beginning of a project launch, you can get a higher price per square foot for smaller units, but a larger unit can produce better return for a buyer.” And it may also offer an edge over the competition. He says the average suite at Menkes’ Fleur building at Yonge and Shuter is about 100 square feet larger than others in the area. “We want to deliver good suites that offer better liveability.” Ritchie says developers will happily build larger suites, if the demand is there. “Let’s say you have 250,000 square feet to sell in a building, or 385 suites at an average 650 square feet. If the average size was 800 square feet, you’d have 60 less suites to sell, 60 less suites to pay development charges on, 60 less kitchens to buy and you’d need fewer parking spaces. Your margins would increase.” Alas, Ritchie says the Toronto area condo market is based on ohba.ca
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The outdoor playground and track at Menkes Developments’ Harbour Plaza.
pre-sales and it’s always easier to sell small units. “The challenge is you have to get a portion of suites sold in pre-construction. That market segment (families) is more willing to buy inventory units, yet reluctant at pre-construction.” “Is it realistic to think families are going to live in an 80-storey tower? No, they are not,” says Shim, who believes the best family application will be midrise buildings on avenues. “They’ll want neighbourhoods with amenities, with infrastructure such as parks, schools and daycare—places where people are inspired to raise families.” Shim consulted on the six-storey Southwood by Streetcar Developments at Kingston Rd. and Southwood Dr., one of the first condominiums designed with family needs in mind, with features such as oversized closets. She also consulted on George condos by the Rockport Group, a midrise in the Leslieville neighbourhood. George has an outdoor kids’ area and welldesigned functional floor plans. Shim held pop-up events to promote the oversized balconies that can accommodate outdoor furniture, a barbecue as well as kids’ tricycles and toys. Other developers don’t specifically target families in their marketing. Ritchie says by looking at suite sizes and amenity packages, buyers can deduce whether a project will suit their family.
SIZE MATTERS What’s the sweet spot for suite size when it comes to families? “We can design 800-square-foot, three-bedroom suites, but they are not that practical,” says Ritchie. “We can do a reasonably good job at 900 to 950 square feet.” Daniels has found that three-bedroom suites of 1,000 to 1,100 square feet work well—anything less than that is not functional, says Tompa—and are still affordable, compared to other types of Toronto housing. That size allows for adequate closet space, living and dining rooms large enough for communal gathering and either two full bathrooms or a powder room and bathroom. The third bedroom might not be large, but has enough space for a bed and desk. Developers such as Tridel, are also putting three-bedroom suites on lower floors to keep them more affordable (the higher suites are in a building, the more the price increases). “Many buildings have podiums and that’s a good place to put those suites,” says Ritchie, noting that potential noise is also less an issue in that location. Even at prices significantly less than single homes or townhouses in the city, family-sized condos may still be financially 38
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Tridel’s Bloor Promenade Condos is a kidfriendly project, but also adult-friendly given its proximity to Islington Subway Station.
out of reach for many families, and they have to look beyond the 416. Builders such as Geranium Homes and Kaitlin Communities are among those offering stacked condo townhouses at budgetfriendly price points in neighbourhoods suited to kids. In Stouffville, Geranium built 120 stacked condo townhouses (Vista Flats & Towns) in four-storey buildings as the last phase of its master-planned Cardinal Point community, starting in the low $300,000s, and sold them out last year. Surrounded by greenery and just down the street from the main community parks, it is well suited to families, says Stephanie Lane, sales and marketing manager for Geranium. “A lot of first-time buyers purchased because of affordability, and we had some people with small children, as well as empty-nesters, buying two-bedroom towns,” she says. “The open concept works well, as parents can see their kids while they work in the kitchen. And there’s a central promenade where children can play. It’s great for a starter-family lifestyle and Stouffville has a ton of amenities.” The latter include an arena and GO station less than five minutes from the site. Kaitlin’s Lakebreeze community in Clarington has stacked and back-to-back townhouses among the mix of housing styles. They start in the low $300,000s for a 650 sq. ft. unit and in the low $500,000s for a 1,350 sq. ft. plan. “It’s a waterfront community on the Waterfront Trail, and there are parks and amenities,” says Kaitlin Daniell, sales and marketing director for Kaitlin Communities. “The lower-level units have two bedrooms with a den and the upper floors are two-level towns with up to three bedrooms. We are seeing a lot of interest from families.” The units include features such as extra bicycle storage in garages, digital locks (so kids don’t have to worry about losing keys) and programmable EcoBee thermostats. Buyers at Lakebreeze can use the clubhouse at Kaitlin’s Port Newcastle site, just a short walk or bike ride away, that has a pool, kids’ programs, fitness centre and movie nights. While children are expected to be part of the mix in low-rise neighbourhood such as those, will childless condo buyers be as accepting of youngsters in their hallways, elevators and common areas? “I think most people appreciate diversity in their buildings,” says Tompa. “There’s a sense of joy in seeing children play. The majority of buyers want a diverse community and most people I talk to who buy into our buildings love the idea of kid zones—and most don’t have children. They like seeing a whole community.” OHB ohba.ca
Presidential Perspectives Six past and present OHBA presidents share their thoughts on 15 years of Liberal legislation and its effect on Ontario housing
Pierre Dufresne 2017-18
Vince Molinaro 2014-15
T
Doug Tarry 2011-12
he past 15 years of Liberal housing policy have impacted every aspect of the new residential, land development and renovation industry—some of it contentious. That was evident in our “Passing Grades” feature edition of OHB magazine, which garnered a lot of attention and some controversy. In that story we combined some industry and non-industry commentary with OHBA grading based on the legislations’ policy intentions. For example, did the Greenbelt Act protect 1 million acres of land from development? Did the Growth Plan change the housing and planning structure from growing out to growing up—from low-rise to high-rise? The grading was not an OHBA endorsement of the policy or the actions of the government—OHBA continues to be a non-partisan association, with a mandate to promote housing affordability and choice. 40
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Bob Finnigan 2010-11
Brian Johnston 2006-07
Peter Saturno 2003-04
But how do those who served in the trenches as volunteer association leaders advocating for industry concerns to government feel about the past 15 years of legislation under the Liberal reign? With Ontarians voting on June 7, OHB polled OHBA presidents who served the association over those years, asking them to respond to the housing and economic indicators chart we ran in the Winter issue (see OHBA.ca), and to share their informed views on where we are after the Greenbelt Act, Growth Plan, Ontario Building Code and the Planning Act. Here are some responses from Pierre Dufresne (2017-18, Tartan Homes, Ottawa); Vince Molinaro (2014-15, Molinaro Group, Burlington); Doug Tarry (2011-12, Doug Tarry Homes, St. Thomas); Bob Finnigan (2010-11, Heathwood Homes, Toronto); Brian Johnston (2006-07, Mattamy Homes, Toronto); and Peter Saturno (2003-04, Midhaven Homes, Oshawa). ohba.ca
Q: How would you respond to the “Ontario Housing & Economic Indicators” chart provided in the Winter issue, which layers a series of provincial legislation and policy alongside the indisputable economic facts—price, sales and starts? Pierre Dufresne: It’s very evident that as government mobilized on all these policy issues and took action, there’s been a correlation with the price of housing. You can see that the increase in housing prices has been disproportionate in the past several years, as policy has become more and more intense. It’s simple.
Brian Johnston: The provincial Liberal policies regarding planning
and development were the catalyst to an unsustainable rise in the market. There is no disputing that the demand for housing is real. Ontario is a preferred destination for immigrants, and restricting supply has created an enormous problem for consumers.
Bob Finnigan: After 2000, you can see there has been a lot more housing policy activity. Beginning with the Moraine Act, and then the one-two
punch of the Greenbelt Act and the Growth Plan, these started the run-up in new-home pricing.
Doug Tarry: I do see that there’s a direct correlation with increasing government oversight. The more polices we get, the greater the impact it has on affordability. Not that there shouldn’t be government oversight— it’s important they have some. But the concern is that this government is so much more involved that it is becoming increasingly complicated and expensive to build, and I have to wonder, ‘Will my daughter ever be able to afford a home?’
15-year comparison
2003
2017
Difference
Ontario price: low-rise
$300 K
$800 K
167%
Ontario starts: low-rise*
47 K
25 K
-47%
Ontario starts: high-rise*
37.5 K
44 K
17%
GTA only
Price low-rise
$340 K
$1,200 K
253%
Price high-rise
$250 K
$716 K
186%
Sales low-rise
31 K
8 K
-74%
Sales high-rise
12 K
36 K
200%
Sources CMHC/OHBA Housing Starts reports BILD Toronto Builder Summer 2011, Spring 2012 BILD www.bildgta.ca/news/newsreleases/GTA-new-home-market-saw-strong-sales-declining-inventory-in-2017
* Starts: Low-rise comprised of single and semi; high-rise comprised of row, apt/condo housing types To view the “Ontario Housing and Economic Indicators” chart, please visit OHBA.ca.
ohba.ca
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How has the Greenbelt influenced your community development planning and business? Pierre: In Ottawa, we had a Greenbelt before the province created one in the GTHA. Other than the Greenbelt, there is resistance to having any type of urban boundary expansion to accommodate ground-oriented residential development. Instead, government policy has mandated ‘growing up and not out.’ The end result was the limiting of both land and housing supply. Developable land prices went up exponentially, and that all falls back into the price of housing. Suddenly, the “controlled growth” in suburbs is being replaced by sprawl in the villages beyond the city of Ottawa boundary. What we see in Ottawa, and this is clearly happening in the GTHA, is that consumers start to drive to qualify, and they end up in the villages outside the city of Ottawa boundary, where they can afford the housing they want.
Bob: We all understood the Greenbelt. The province said, ‘Let’s set aside lands that are no-go in order to protect them for generations: naturalized areas and geological and geographic features deemed key to the GTA’s environmental interests.’ There were grumblings about borders—where and how they were established, etc. But the industry was told we couldn’t develop in those areas. The principles were hard to fight against, (but) the execution was not done well.
This, of course, immediately started raising the price of lands outside the Greenbelt—which is the normal reaction—and suddenly we had a very limited supply of developable land.
Doug: In recent years, there (has been) a significant amount of spillover happening from the GTA. As those consumers push into the Guelph and KW markets, it’s marching up the 401. Lot prices have basically doubled in the last seven years, as there’s been a shortage and it’s pushing up prices everywhere. Now, with more restrictions, it’s just going to continue to push prices up. While we do have to protect the Greenbelt spaces, I think there are other ways to do it. I also believe that we have the largest land mass in the
out” policies accelerated through the past 15 years. Years ago, ground-oriented townhouses were affordable, but now they are a ‘move-up’ product, with the only choice of an entry-level purchaser being the condo market. With Ottawa’s transit plans, they have created some positive development areas to support the ‘build up’ approach, but the price is really driving the first-time homebuyer into the condo option. It’s 42
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Peter Saturno: The Liberal Government Greenbelt legislation has choked land availability, caused uncertainly in the development marketplace, put unprecedented pressure on raw land values and confused development planning. As a company, we are looking even further away from our historic building areas, looking for more affordable raw land, which will result in more affordable housing offerings. This will inevitably add to hours of peoples’ commuting times if they work in Toronto, as there is a lack of any real mass transit. The urban sprawl that the Greenbelt was planning to curb as part of its mandate is just causing that sprawl to shift farther out from Queen’s Park.
“Government policy has mandated ‘growing up and not out.’ The end result was the limiting of both land and housing supply.”
How has the Growth Plan influenced your community development planning and business? Pierre: In Ottawa, the “build up, not
world. And we’re instead going to be into multigenerational mortgages for families to be able to afford homes.
a dubious success story—doing what we’re supposed to do in “growing up, not out,” and making efficient use of infrastructure, etc. But we’re impacting people’s ability to purchase the type of housing that they really want.
Vince Molinaro: Our company has always specialized in multi-unit residential high-rise development, and that means we are always “going up.” We build in Hamilton-Burlington area
and there aren’t obvious vast tracts of buildable land, so we have to be creative or assemble properties—sometimes you’re looking at these things three or four years out just to get that key piece of serviceable land. In some cases, it works well— our Paradigm project is near the Burlington GO Station. Five or 10 years ago, it’s land that we wouldn’t have looked at because of its proximity to the train tracks. But now with the Growth Plan and Big Move, it works. Nobody was building beside GO trains before, but we saw this as the way the ohba.ca
province was building and developing—up, not out, transit-oriented, all the buzz words. You just need to be progressive and see the writing on the wall. I will add that this is a seven-year project, so you have to be prepared for multiple sales and construction cycles, which makes it expensive and does impact the housing price.
FAIL ED
Bob: The Growth Plan is—and will be—the number-one issue affecting our company and our Industry, followed closely by the recent OMB reform. In principle, it sounded reasonable, but the execution has been abysmal by any standards. The lands designated as growth areas were substantial, but most didn’t and still don’t have access to the infrastructure needed for development and are still a long way from being brought into urban boundaries. And this is a dozen years after the Act. What should have been a two-year process to get municipal conformity took almost six years, meaning that no new land came into the pipeline for future housing. It’s the perfect storm of no new supply, with existing supply tied up in process, and this all impacts the price of housing. To add insult to injury, the densities prescribed—the building up, not out—were for the most part untested in terms of housing types being offered in the 905 regions, and most recently these densities have been increased tremendously. The end is almost here for singlefamily housing. The industry is in an era of great uncertainty, where we don’t know how long it takes to get an approval in an approved growth area, or what the restrictions will be on it, or what the final housing mix will be. The result has been per-acre land price increases of hundreds of percent over the past decade, driving the ability to buy land into fewer hands and further tightening the supply, and driving housing prices up. Like many other builders, we are looking further for opportunities across the GGH and beyond. ohba.ca
The true test: housing affordability and choice It’s amazing how OHBA members deliver the great Canadian dream of homeownership, despite the labyrinth of government regulation. From protecting natural and environmental features for future generations, combined with building more compact communities to leverage infrastructure and transit, while always striving to build better homes and respecting the local voice in how it brings new neighbours to Ontario communities, it’s a wonder they can find their way through. These individual policies are graded on their individual objectives. But just as members navigate the maze, OHBA needs to connect the policy dots together against the true test of housing affordability and choice. Housing affordability and choice is the association’s membership mandate, and with an evidencebased approach, OHBA needs to put 15 years of government housing policy to that test. The Ontario Housing and Economic Indicators Chart connects those dots by clearly outlining the cumulative impact on housing price and choice, as we see one policy interacting with the next policy, and the next and the next. As the chart illustrates, in the past 15 years, the price of new housing responded to the tidal waves of policies by going up, up, up. In April 2017, the provincial government announced the Fair Housing Plan in response to the 33% year-over-year housing price increase. As Minister Sousa stated, “Families are pissed that they can’t
win bidding wars. In times past, young families would get into the market with those entry-market homes.” The government acknowledged that actions need to be taken on the supply side with a 16-point plan that provides government surplus land for development, as well as a Housing Supply Team to clear red tape preventing new development, missing middle housing and laneway housing projects from getting to the market. Minister Sousa also went on to state that “market forces will always prevail.” Our members know that improving affordability is only possible by increasing the supply of new homes in the market. That has been the OHBA message to the provincial government, repeated and supported by the local associations to their municipal governments. When grading the impact of the current provincial policies against OHBA’s mission to promote housing affordability and choice, the only grade that can be applied is an “F”—FAIL. Failure to support the great Canadian dream of homeownership. Failure to see that each new policy impacts future supply. Failure to recognize that these policies shape the marketplace. And, ultimately, failure to treat the concerns and expert advice of the industry that builds 95% of all the new housing as a true partner in building great, affordable communities where people can live, work and play.
—Joe Vaccaro, CEO, Ontario Home Builders’ Association ontario home builder Spring 2018
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In the new Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) model, where the LPAT decision must be consistent with local official plans and zoning, do you believe that Council will make good planning decisions or fall victim to NIMBY-ism opposition, thereby limiting housing supply and choice in your community? Pierre: The reforms really fall short. The province stated that they are tired of the Ontario Municipal Board being a scapegoat for councillors who don’t want to make the tough planning decisions. But I don’t see how the LPAT makes them more accountable. At the end of the day, we must go back to why we are in this whole situation. There is all this criticism coming from the community associations and municipalities that OMB decisions were governing how their communities are being run, but refusing to acknowledge that OMB decisions are based on provincial planning policies. The whole exercise has been politicized right from the beginning. With the LPAT, local planning is about to be more political now.
Vince: I think Councils are going to be surprised at how they’re going to have to change their thinking with a development application. They can’t just dump it and blame the OMB for being in the developer’s pocket. I think they will have to be directly accountable for what they do now. I’m
against the LPAT, but I think Council got what they wished for. Watch what you wish for! I think they’re going to have to change the way they treat their planning decisions.
Brian: Only a blind optimist would believe that councillors will not be biased by local planning dissent. The province should consider moving away from local councillors, similar to Vancouver, to avoid poor decision making. Peter: The probability of local councils now making good planning decisions is possible, but when you weigh calls and complaints from their constituents against the “future neighbours,” I would say that there is a better chance of Elon Musk’s space roadster being car-jacked by aliens. The OMB was a sober second look, with facts against the wants of voters who often believe that bad planning is “the next house built after I move in.” The new process will only bottleneck development and further choke supply and choice.
Housing Legislation in Ontario 2004-2018 2004 OMB Reform: Strong Communities (Planning Amendment) Act
2005 Greenbelt Act Provincial Policy Statement
2006 OMB Reform: Planning Act Update Growth Plan for GGH
2007 Endangered Species Act
2009 Ontario College of Trades Act Green Energy Act
2010 HST on New Housing
2011 Mandatory WSIB coverage
2012 Ontario Building Code
2014 Provincial Policy Statement
2015
The current government has amended the Ontario Building Code two times, and each time they have increased the energy efficiency and “green” requirements. How have these OBC changes impacted your home building program and business? Vince: I think going green and sustainable is a good thing. Our company has decided three or four buildings ago that we’re going to build LEED-certified. Obviously, the changes will mean more cost, but I think that over time, these costs come down with economies of scale. Ultimately, it’s all worth it because you’re building a better quality, better built home that’s better for the environment. And we now know that in 2030, Net Zero becomes the standard. We have to continue to challenge ourselves. Use the building code as the minimum but we like to stand out as a 4 4
ontario home builder Spring 2018
company and offer a product that is different and better-value and sustainable.
Doug: When it comes to responsible development of the code on energy efficiency specifically, I really do believe that we have the right model when we have the industry lead it first. Give us the benchmark and stay the heck out of the way. Let us find out how to get there. Once we’ve created a capacity for it, then you can move the code up. What’s happening now is that this next code change is jumping past industry capacity, and it’s going to be a real problem. OHB
OMB Reform: Smart Growth for Our Communities Act Condominium Act
2016 Promoting Affordable Housing Act
2017 Construction Lien Act Ontario Building Code SB-12 Bill 139, Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act Coordinated Review of Provincial Plans
2018 Protecting Water (Growing the Greenbelt) Inclusionary Zoning Regulation
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In the
Beginning
Tracing the roots of 10 of OHBA’s longest-standing members By T r ac y H a n e s
Many of them started as single-person operations with humble beginnings. Over the decades, they’ve grown, changed, weathered recessions and boom times. Their owners realized the value in networking and the merits of belonging to an association of their peers in building their business. Here are the stories of 10 of the longest-standing members of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association, and how they have endured through the decades. 46
ontario home builder Spring 2018
ohba.ca
At left, London Glass & Mirror’s 1938 employee portrait. Above, a pair of mid-’80s projects see Minto breaking ground on Minto Place in downtown Ottawa and construction of the Madison model in Chapel Hill in Orleans.
London Glass & Mirror Co. London
Established: 1938 Employees: 14 While working for another local glass company, Robert Burns Stewart saw an opportunity to open his own establishment, London Glass & Mirror, on Rectory Street in London in 1938. Nine years later, the business moved to its current location at 679 York St., and today is run by Trevor Stewart, the fourth generation in the family business, with his sister Michelle Vacheresse serving as the office manager. The company, whose major clients are builders, manufactures products in its own 10,000 sq. ft. facility, while sourcing some components elsewhere. “When we were kids, we did a lot of silvering of mirrors and cut designs into them, which we still do. But now it’s mainly glass showers and railings, as well as replacement windows,” notes Stewart. “We also have service contracts with rental properties and commercial and retail outlets.” ohba.ca
London Glass & Mirror was the first in town to fashion glass showers and still boasts strong sales in mirrors thanks largely to machinery that offers a myriad of design options (it’s the only local company, for example, that bevels mirrors). Stewart attributes their longstanding success “to how our elders ran the company,” as well as constant evolution in techniques and materials. But their staff are the heart and soul, he notes. “Your employees make your company special. Many of us have worked here for 35 years.”
Minto Ottawa
Established: 1955 Employees: 1,200 in Canada and U.S.
Sixty-three years ago, operating under the banner of Mercury Homes, four Ottawa brothers—Irving, Gilbert, Louis and Lorry Greenberg— purchased their first lot and built their first home. A decade later, the business was churning out more than 1,000 homes a year, creating rental communities and becoming Ottawa’s
largest landowner. The second generation of Greenbergs—Michael, Kenneth, Roger, Alan and Robert—joined the family business in the 1980s. Today, Roger is chairman of the board, while other family members serve on the advisory board. Minto has evolved into one of Canada’s premier fully integrated real estate companies, with a portfolio of 2.7 million square feet of commercial space, while managing 15,000 rental properties. Innovation has been key to their evolution, suggests Brent Strachan, senior V.P. of Minto Communities Canada. On July 1, 1969, Minto registered Horizon House in Ottawa, Canada’s first highrise condominium. By 1975, they’d completed 10 more. In the ’70s, Minto also dipped into into commercial plaza construction and in 1978 expanded to south Florida. The Toronto market beckoned in 1986, and Minto Midtown was at the leading edge of the city’s tall condo buildings, while low-rise projects are now scattered across the GTA. A leader in sustainability, Minto was one of the first to introduce Net Zero Ready
homes. Its Ottawa office tower is LEED Gold-certified, as are its high-rise condo towers. Apart from its reputation for quality, Minto’s prolonged success can be attributed to a big-picture approach, says Strachan. “Over the years, the market goes up and down, but Minto’s strategy is to always be diversified in product as well as geography. When the U.S. had the most recent meltdown (2008-09) and real estate took a nosedive, what enabled us to stay active was the strength of the Canadian operation. Today, Minto is a dominant player in the Florida market and has expanded into South Carolina.”
Giampietri Brothers Construction Sarnia
Established: 1975 Full-time employees: 2 Carmen Giampietri emigrated from Italy to Canada in 1968, followed a year later by his brother Giulio. The duo arrived with less than $100 to their name and found work framing and doing trim
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Russell Island, Michigan. Through it all, dedicating themselves to quality workmanship and excellent customer service has continued to pay dividends for a company that doesn’t even have a website. And the brothers, now 67 and 70, have no plans to call it quits.
James Keating Construction Elora
Forty-three years after founding their company, Carmen (left) and Giulio Giampietri are still planning for the future.
Keating Construction first operated out of Jim’s parents garage in Elora (his father, Frank, is second from the left).
for builders. In 1974, they built their first two homes and decided to form their own partnership, incorporating Giampietri Brothers Construction Ltd. in 1975. Carmen and Giulio sold model homes, purchased lots from other developers and built a few houses each year. As sales increased, so did construction—up to 33 homes a year in the mid-’80s. The firm soon expanded into land development and custom building—ventures that provided experience in dealing with people of various professions, as well as exposure to new ideas. 48
Though high interest rates from 1979-82 presented challenges, Giampietri Brothers stayed to their original and shared purpose of new-home building. They acquired and developed land in Sarnia, Bright’s Grove and Petrolia, the latter featuring a subdivision called Woodland Park in 1985 that they continue to develop (they’re currently working on Phase 14!) The firm’s most memorable project? That would have to be a floating two-storey 3,500 sq. ft. cottage they built in 2003 in Sarnia, which was then transported by barge 42 kilometres down the St. Clair River to
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Established: 1957 Employees: 20 Elora resident Jim Keating started his own business in 1957 at the age of 20. Following in the footsteps of his father, Frank, a part-time renovator and home builder himself, Jim served a four-year carpenter’s apprenticeship with his dad. With construction work hard to find and loans harder to come by, Jim soon put his skills to work with renovations and cabinetry. A retired farmer with a little land in his portfolio provided Keating with his first offer to build homes. Keating’s focus then turned to large-scale renovations and new home construction, with his first land development opportunity coming in 1971 with the 36-lot Ville Lora Heights in Elora. Since then, he has been renovating and developing and building homes in the Fergus and Elora areas. And Keating is still active in the company, along with his wife Fran and their two sons, Steve and Tom. “We do all the design work in house, and frame and trim all of our homes,” Tom notes. The company strives to build 25 homes a year and offers highly personalized service, which has, in turn, supplied a steady line of referrals.
“As we all know, the home building market can be very cyclical, but the renovation market adds to our portfolio,” says Tom. “We have never thought of closing, but there have been a lot of tough times you were never sure you’d make it through. I’ve been with the firm for the last 20 years, so it’s always encouraging to build and grow a business when you know the next generation is keen and ready to step in.” Keating, whose firm got involved in the R2000 program in the 1980s and has claimed numerous awards, says membership in the home builder associations, from local dinner meetings to OHBA and CHBA conferences, has has helped the company stay current and powering toward the future.
Metro Homes Niagara Falls
Established: 1975 Full-time employees: 2 Renato Foschini first came to Niagara Falls from Italy in 1967 and started working as a bricklayer. He briefly returned to his homeland where he met and married his wife Teresa, but returned to Niagara with his new bride in 1968. Although offered jobs at General Motors and other factories, Foschini opted to stay with bricklaying, since he enjoyed the work and preferred being outdoors. But in 1975, he waded into the new home building market under the title of Metro Homes. Since then, his modest company has constructed more than 1,000 homes across the Niagara region. At age 82, Foschini is still on the job and currently building in Oldfield Estates in Niagara Falls, where his son, Ben, owner of the Metro Homes ohba.ca
Renato Foschini (centre) is still a regular bright and early on Metro Homes’ Niagara-area jobsites.
Building Group, is also building new homes. “Dad is a hands-on builder. He did most of the physical work himself, held his own open houses and sold the homes he built,” says Ben. “Building is a very risky business, but my father will mortgage his own house to buy lots. He’s a risktaker. He said if he has to go back to living in a one-bedroom apartment, that is fine with him. It doesn’t faze him.” That attitude has helped drive the elder Foschini’s success. “I was born with talent,” he says jokingly, but his selfconfidence has served him well. When the market took a steep downturn in 1991, although Foschini didn’t go bankrupt, “he lost everything,” says Ben, whose father refinanced the family home to pay his trades, as he believed his business would recover and he’d need those subcontractors again. He was right; his business bounced back—stronger than ever. Metro Homes’ niche has been first-time buyers, even though Foschini has been a custom builder. Many customers enjoy the fact that they deal directly with Renato, says Ben, and appreciate his honesty in spelling out exactly what they can expect in their new home. ohba.ca
Stinson Builders Ltd. Belleville
Established: Early 1950s Employees: 6 Stinson Builders’ three-generation history in the Belleville area traces back to the early 1950s, when George Stinson started building homes and formed George Stinson Construction. His son Paul came up through the company ranks and, just before his father retired in 1980, started his own company, Paul Stinson Builders Ltd. Generation number three entered the picture in the late1990s after Paul’s son, Brad, graduated from Algonquin College’s construction engineering program. With Brad’s arrival, the company name was changed to Stinson Builders Ltd. Brad is currently a partner in the firm, which focuses on single-family residential construction in Belleville, Quinte West (Trenton) and Prince Edward County. It conducts its own land development and servicing of lots. Custom homes for those with their own lots accounts for roughly 30-40% of the business.
Paul Stinson has remained an active member of the Quinte HBA, including two terms as president, for 40 years.
“Most of our clients are move-up buyers and higherend homes,” says Paul. “In our area, our homes are in the $400,000 to $500,000 range but we also do $500,000-plus custom contracted homes.” While the firm has experienced slowdowns over the decades, Paul says there was never any thought of closing the doors. “Oddly enough, in the early ’80s when interest rates were high, we were very busy building houses. In the last five years in particular, we’ve seen migration from the GTA to this area and more people wanting high-end homes in the County.” Paul can’t pinpoint a secret of their success, other than “keeping our nose to the grindstone, supervising most of the work ourselves and building a good reputation. Word of mouth of being a good quality local builder has kept us going through the ups and downs.” Paul has been an active member of the Quinte Home Builders’ Association for 40 years, serving on the board of directors and two terms as president. “I’m proud of the achievements our board and association have had. As of late, we were successful getting development deferred to the closing date of a house or 180
days after taking out a permit for builders who are association members,” Paul says. “We are now approaching Prince Edward County and Quinte West about doing the same.” Stinson says the association has been greatly beneficial not just for networking but for the “tremendous amount of information that channels down from the CHBA to the OHBA to the local association. It gives us a one-up on what’s happening and what’s going to happening in the near future.”
Mike Dubecki Homes Ltd. Brantford
Established: 1948 Employees: 6 When Mike Dubecki moved from Manitoba to Brantford in 1945, he found work as a carpenter with a contracting firm. Three years later, he struck out on his own to start a renovating business, teaming up with a local realtor who would recommend him for jobs. In 1952, Dubecki started building houses, taking advantage of continuing post-war demand. Still, with dollars
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Garry Dubecki, flanked by brothers Len (left) and Mark, was a twotime president of the Brantford HBA, which their father helped found.
tight and mortgages difficult to obtain, Dubecki found it wise to begin with small singlefamily homes. A founding member of the Brantford Home Builders’ Association in 1953, Dubecki, who passed away in 2004, continued with renovation work, but slowly the new-home side of his business began to occupy the majority of his time. Mike’s son Garry, who started working for the company in the summers and studied business at the University of Western Ontario, joined in an administrative capacity in 1967. The Dubeckis’ three other sons, Len, Mark and Norm (deceased), eventually signed on as well. “There were some lean times, but we found a way to get through. Renovation was a contributing factor when the new-home market was not good,” says Garry, who adds that staying financially strong and planning for slow times has always enabled the company to remain viable. As have the enduring attributes of first-class workmanship and client trust. “My dad, (who retired in 1980), had a reputation of working hard, being honest, producing quality and being fair with clients, sub-trades and suppliers,” Garry notes. “That reputation has continued ohba.ca
to today and we’re well established in the community.” The company has also avoided falling into a niche by keeping pace with market changes, building everything from entry-level homes to luxury estates. At its peak, they put up 49 homes a year, but averaged a healthy 20 to 25 annually. With lots difficult for small builders to obtain, the company has downscaled in recent years, but still constructs six to 10 homes annually to complement its brisk renovation business. And with regards to the association his father helped start, it pays to be a member, especially in the current building climate, says Garry, a twotime president of the Brantford HBA. “It’s always been an important part of our business, with the networking and people you meet. And it’s always a highlight of the year to attend the CHBA conference.”
his accountant Harold Soupcoff ventured far beyond their comfort zone to build a pair of homes in North York. That was the beginning of a remarkable empire that has spanned 67 years and erected 10,000 homes in more than 100 communities throughout Ontario. Over the decades, as other partners joined in, the company expanded into nonhome building ventures such as gas bars, a restaurant chain (the Pickle Barrel) and tennis clubs (Mayfair), while also building rental properties and retail shopping plazas. Wycliffe underwent a restructuring or two, with the current president, Gary Bensky, who studied architecture at the University of Waterloo, coming aboard in the mid-1970s. Apart from Bensky, Gorman and Soupcoff, the partners at the time included Hy Shore (Gorman’s brotherin-law) and Al Sandler, who lent his expertise in sales and marketing. (Sandler, now 87, still drops by the office.) Although the firm had built extensively in North York, Scarborough and Markham by the time Bensky signed on, Bayview Avenue proved the new horizon. Wycliffe became synonymous with that thoroughfare, spending decades developing in
Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Aurora and Newmarket. It continues to build in North York, Kleinburg, Thornhill, Vaughan and Richmond Hill and has expanded to Sharon. One of Wycliffe’s fields of expertise clearly lies in infill developments, where it has created a niche with its urban townhomes, boasting a string of awards for its community and home designs, as well as customer service, including a recent Urban Design Award for its Woodbridge Village project. “Everybody looks like a genius because the market has been strong for so long,” says Bensky, but it was not always thus, he assures. “When we had to, we dropped prices and we moved inventory. The ’90s were particularly difficult. But we didn’t overreact; we reacted to the times. Never stop selling.” Today, Bensky is the youngest partner in the company at age 65. His son Jared joined 10 years ago, but many of their employees have been with them for decades. “Everyone in the organization—past, present and future—had or has a passion for what we do,” Bensky says. “We build a better product. Yes, it costs more, but we pride ourselves in having a quality product that’s a little ahead of the curve.”
Gary and Jared Bensky at the groundbreaking of the Wycliffe Luxury Collection in Toronto in 2012.
Wycliffe Homes Markham
Year established: 1951 Employees: 15 Wycliffe Homes laid its foundation in 1951 when dress salesman Harry Gorman and ontario home builder Spring 2018
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Rockport principals Jack and Daniel Winberg mark the second and third generations of the Toronto firm.
Rockport Group Don & Son Building Supplies Ltd. has called Oshawa’s Somerville St. North home since being founded in 1977.
Don & Son Building Supplies Ltd. Oshawa
Year established: 1977 Employees: 25 Don Mastroianni, who worked as a plasterer and bricklayer, came to Canada with his wife and oldest son from Italy in 1960. He branched into building homes, stepping into the role of partner in a Durham Region building supply business in the early ’70s. In 1977, Mastroianni founded his own company, Don & Son Building Supplies, in north Oshawa, with wife Rita handling bookkeeping. Don actually had three sons (and a daughter), but a lawyer mistakenly left an ‘s’ off the legal documents. That omission, however, works just fine today, as Don’s oldest son, Lou, is the lone offspring with the business, which is still at its original location on Somerville St. North in Oshawa. Lou started working for his dad part-time in high school. “Back then, we had a lot of 52
people wearing multiple hats,” he recalls. “A lot of the deliveries were made by dad and me.” Today, Don & Son is one of Ontario’s largest masonry suppliers, with contractors accounting for 85% of the business. The younger Mastroianni studied business administration at Sir Wilfrid Laurier University and worked as a brand manager at Proctor and Gamble before joining his father’s company full-time in 1985. Lou now bears the owner’s title, although his dad is a regular presence. Lou has served on the Durham Region HBA board of directors for years (his sales manager Emidio DiPalo is the 2018 president!). Lou credits perseverance, family values, experience in the trades and strong relationships with local builders as pivotal to the company’s success. “From ’89 to ’95 things were rough,” recalls the younger Mastroianni. “A lot of people we were holding accounts for went bankrupt. We went smaller instead of bigger, dipped into personal savings and did what we had to. From 1995, though, things have been good.”
ontario home builder Spring 2018
Toronto
Year established: 1957 Employees: 60 Burton Winberg was 26 years old and working in the family shoe business in the early 1950s when his father died, leaving him financially responsible for his mother and two young brothers. He invested in first mortgages, including one for a builder constructing six houses in Scarborough. When the builder ran into financial difficulty, Winberg assumed the reins and finished the project. By the early 1960s, he was a full-time builder. Winberg had begun building townhouses when, during a trip to California, he discovered a concept called a condominium. When the Condominium Act was introduced north of the border, allowing units to be sold individually while maintaining joint ownership of the common elements, Winberg embraced the opportunity. Rockport pioneered the idea in Ontario and registered the first Condominium Corporations in the Toronto area in 1968 (all townhouse projects). Since its inception, Rockport has developed more than 27,000 residential and retirement units/suites. It develops
and builds mid- and high-rise condos, purpose-built rental residential (they currently have 600 units under construction across various projects), retail, commercial and industrial developments. The company has also fostered an expertise in seniors’ housing and retirement homes. Burton’s son Jack, who had become a successful lawyer specializing in land use and development law before joining Rockport in 1988, is now the company CEO. He is a past president of the Urban Development Institute (UDI) of Canada (1994-’96) and chaired UDI Ontario from 1992 to ’94. The third generation of Winbergs is involved in Rockport today. Jack’s son Daniel, who studied economics and holds a Masters in Real Estate Development, joined in 2014 and is a principal in the company. Daughter Lauren Granatstein came aboard in 2016 and oversees marketing. After 60 years in business, the company thrives on the rapidly changing building landscape, says Jack. “We are very much a customer-driven business. We take our skills and apply them to the changing marketplace around us. It keeps it interesting and our staff loves it because they are always challenged to come up with new ideas. It’s a fun place to work.” OHB ohba.ca
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YOU ARE NOT SAFE
Stopping a determined cyber criminal is virtually impossible, but you can at least bar the door By T e d M c I n t y r e
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M
“
y business is paranoia,
and I’m more paranoid than most,” says Victor Beitner, founder and CEO of Toronto-based Cyber Security Canada. Beitner, whose security consulting work has ranged from demonstrating to Royal Canadian Mint officials how easy it is to counterfeit a $20 bill to current cyber audits of major corporations, suggests it would be healthy for us all to be a little worried, because accessing your entire digital network these days is as easy as walking through an open door. “Not long ago, we went into a renovation company in Toronto that wanted to know whether their network was OK. They had antivirus and their IT guys had installed several of the right tools,” Beitner recalls. “I said, ‘Everything looks fine on the outside—your computers and printers are working properly. But let’s do a little digging.’ It turned out that they had malware on their server—for at least three years. “The average time between infection and discovery—while someone is in your system, taking their time—is about nine months,” Beitner explains. “And it will usually be an outside party like us, not internally, who discovers that their computer is talking to Brazil when they don’t have any business there.” Such breaches are reaching epidemic proportions. The big ones, of course, are well publicized. They include Equifax, whose massive cyber attack last September divulged personal information and credit card details that affected as many as 143 million Americans and 100,000 Canadians; the 2013 attack on retail giant Target, which exposed data of 41 million customers and cost the company an estimated $105 million US; and Bell Canada, which was accessed in January—the second such breach in eight 56
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months—exposing information of as many as 100,000 customers. Sometimes it’s banking records that are stolen, such as JPMorgan Chase in 2014. Sometimes it’s even more personal than that, such as the divulging of client names of marriage infidelity facilitator AshleyMadison.com. A recent string of phishing expeditions has regrettably hooked a number of home building and renovator clients in the UK. According to the Telegraph’s Money section, fraudsters have targeted building firms who lack secure systems and who could be using the same password for multiple online accounts. “Criminals find builders’ email addresses online and run these through freely available software online in order to see if there are any known passwords associated with those accounts. If they obtain the correct passwords, fraudsters can then access the email accounts and send emails purporting to be from the builder or contractor,” the Telegraph reports. “By reading through previous email exchanges they can quickly understand transactions and find ways to trick customers into making payments to designated accounts.” That’s what happened to London lawyer Arthur Mullinger. While travelling in France, Mullinger, who was expecting an invoice, was emailed by the subcontractor working on his third-floor extension and payment was requested. Mullinger promptly transferred £10,800 into the Lloyds bank account provided, unaware that fraudsters had infiltrated that renovator’s email. Knowing how pervasive the hacking issue is in Canada has previously been hard to nail down. Prior to 2018, Canadian organizations were not required to disclose to authorities—or their customers—that they’d been compromised.
But that loophole is being closed this year with new Ottawa legislation, as part of the Digital Privacy Act, including significant fines for those who fail to disclose.
PROTECTING FROM THE INSIDE OUT It’s difficult for companies to avoid such breaches in the modern business world, where employees are constantly connected to social media, retail websites and other spurious webpages, either via their work computers or personal devices—particularly when a simple email can bring you to your knees. “Many folks buy all this fancy hardware and think they’re protected. The problem is, they’re not,” Beitner says. “A $20 router can block most cyber attacks from the outside. An organization can spend $25,000 on a fancy firewall to protect it from external threats. But that’s not how most of the bad guys are doing it today. They’re doing it from the inside. And that’s a challenge, because people like to click on links. Everyone is in a hurry-up, get-the-jobdone mode. Let’s say you email a supplier and an email comes back almost instantly that looks like it’s from that contact. You click a link on their email and you’re toast.” The infiltration process can be frighteningly easy, Beitner cautions. “It doesn’t matter if the hackers are in Romania, the Russian Federation, Brazil, China or next door. There are free online tools available that they can use to test a website to see if they can break in. And this is all automated. Then they run an ‘exploit.’ For example, if it’s a CMS@ site, they can inject some code into the database, and anytime someone pulls up a page, they get infected with spyware, ransomware, anything. You now have control of their ohba.ca
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computers. Or you can use it as a jumping point and send phishing emails, such as ‘View your package at FedEx…’ The link usually takes you to a compromised website, which will redirect you where the bad guy wants you to go, which has an exploit kit built onto the site. By the time you’ve touched the link, you’re already doomed. “If I wanted to (break into a home builder website), I could contact an OHBA custom builder and say I’m interested in a 10,000 square foot home. Then their brain shuts off and they’re thinking, ‘We’ve got a great potential client!’” Beitner explains. “We start a relationship by email, then I send them my list of features—but that Word document or pdf could be weaponized. They open it up and now I’ve got them. A lot of these websites also have a ‘careers’ menu, where you can send your CV as an attachment. Their HR people open it up, and now the hacker has access to all client records, employee information, maybe even direct deposit info—a potential gold mine.” Some attackers do not linger in your system; they come straight to the point and demand money, essentially holding your network for ransom. Ransomware is a form of malware that restricts access to your computer or your files and displays a message that demands payment in order for the restriction to be lifted. The infection, which traditionally arrives via a phishing email with a malicious attachment or a website pop-up advertisement
that just begs to be clicked, can come in the form of a locked screen or encryption that prevents you from opening files on your system’s hard drive and/or shared network drives, USB drives, external hard drives and even some cloud storage drives. Typically, users’ computer screens will display a notification that their computer or data have been locked, with a demand for payment to regain access. “Sometimes the notification states that authorities have detected illegal activity on your computer, and that the
computer technician or specialist to find out whether your computer can be repaired and your data retrieved. “The ‘ethical’ criminals have a business,” Beitner notes. “They have a toll-free call-in centre. A guy answers the phone and says, ‘Here’s the process— how to get the bitcoin (the web’s digital, anonymous currency) and how to pay it. Fifty percent of people pay the ransom.” That 50% included the University of Calgary, which paid $20,000 in June 2016 after a ransomware cyber attack
“The average time between infection and discovery— while someone is in your system, taking their time—is about nine months.” payment is a fine to avoid prosecution,” notes the Government of Canada’s Get Cyber-Safe campaign. In either case, the government suggests that you do not pay the ransom: “These threats are meant to scare and intimidate you, and they do not come from a law enforcement agency,” the Get Cyber-Safe site explains. What they do recommend is contacting the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, as well as a reputable
crippled its computer system. A similar breach later that year wreaked havoc on Ottawa’s Carleton University network. Trouble is, it’s hard to find an honest criminal these days. “About 20% of those who pay actually do not get the keys,” Beitner says. “The money is gone and the data on their computer might be unrecoverable. Worse, once the criminals are in your computer, they’ll usually copy and steal your data—banking info, CAD
7 Email Fraud Prevention Tips Online fraudsters are increasingly targeting small- and medium-sized businesses in Canada. Their objective may be to access classified business data (yours or your customers’), obtain banking information, commit identity theft or even stalk employees. Common tactics include: spam (email sent without permission of the sender), phishing (spam that pretends to be from a company, financial institution or government agency) or a trojan horse (a malicious program hiding within an attractive offer). Fortunately, there are simple antifraud practices that anyone can use: 58
1. Be suspicious of any phone calls, visits or emails from strangers asking about employees, their families and sensitive business matters.
2. Always be cautious of emails that: make offers that sound too good to be true, request that you click on a link in the message or ask for your personal information.
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3. Always report any suspicious activity to your IT professional.
4. If a suspicious email appears to be from a recognized organization or client, contact them directly (not as a reply) to ask if they sent the email.
5.
7.
If your business may have lost or revealed sensitive information, take immediate security action, such as contacting your bank.
When in doubt, ask your IT professional or colleague for help.
6. Report the incident to the police (or contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre).
If you or anybody in your business receives a suspicious email, don’t reply or click on any links or attachments in the email. The best thing you can do is delete the email from your inbox. Never forward a suspicious email. —GetCyberSafe.ca
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The Big Con The classic con jobs of yesteryear now employ modernday technology to fleece their marks. Cyber Security Canada founder Victor Beitner describes one example he’s familiar with. “The CEO of a company went to Europe with the intention of buying another company,” Beitner
shares. “Then his office received a panicked email at the end of the workday Friday from that CEO telling the CFO, ‘I have a deal—transfer $5 million to this account and we’ve scooped our competition and have this company!’ The CFO tells everyone, ‘Let’s make this happen,’ and he
drawings, trade secrets—anything they can use or sell.” One of the first steps in preparing for such hacks is for business owners—or personal computer owners, for that matter—to regularly back up data with a removable external storage drive. Protocols for web surfing and social media should also be established within the office. Employees should additionally be mindful that even protected work-owned devices used outside the office can expose a business to the loss of
gets the bank to transfer the money—and just like that, $5 million went up in smoke. “There are people who do their research,” Beitner says. “They see a CEO of a $100 million company is travelling—after all, we tell the world what we’re doing on Facebook. I’ve also seen
scams where they target the IT people that manage a company’s infrastructure. They’ll call up the receptionist and say, ‘Hi. We’re an IT company. Are you happy with your existing one?’ If they say yes, the guy on the phone might ask, ‘Who are they? I might want to ask them for a job!’ Then
Mechanical Services, a Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania provider of refrigeration and HVAC systems that worked at a number of Target locations. Beitner admits they had a similar case of an Ontario HVAC company that was breached via a contractor with which they worked—and that “was the guy who tested their software and did the patching! (The hackers) got him through his android tablet,” Beitner relates. “We had another client that develops websites— they were inadvertently compromising
“Typically, emails come disguised as a wholesaler bill, and once the company opens it, they’re done.” sensitive information to malware and to other threats, cautions Get Cyber-Safe. “For example, using public networks on a mobile device to send and receive business information can allow your private data to be viewed or used by unauthorized people.” And try using older technology once in a while. Call to verify financial requests. Yes, it takes a few extra minutes, but it can save you massive headaches down the road and will also reassure your clients that your company takes cyber security seriously. Sometimes, however, you can take all the right precautions and still be compromised by a trusted third party. That’s what happened with Target, whose records were initially accessed on Nov. 15, 2013 due to a hack of Fazio 60
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their clients’ sites because they used tools that are free and usually not vetted.”
CYBER INSURANCE When all else fails, it’s nice to have cyber insurance to fall back on. And while it often requires that you do your due diligence—“Do you have antivirus on all your computers and are they always patched? Do you have a firewall on your computer? Do you have backups?”— Federated Insurance’s basic home builder policy doesn’t actually contain those prerequisites in its wording. “Across all of my clients, I know of six or seven who have said, ‘Yeah, that’s happened to me,’” notes Federated Insurance Senior Risk Service Coordinator George
at lunch tomorrow, there’s a call from someone why says they spoke to Donna yesterday and that they’re sending a tech guy over—he just needs the password. The person in administration gives them the password because they mentioned Donna and have the right IT company name.”
Hurst, who has an undisclosed number of OHBA clients whose networks have been compromised in the past—predominantly with ransomware attacks. “Typically, emails come disguised as a wholesaler bill, and once the company opens it, they’re done. Then they get asked for so many bitcoins to release their information or else the (hacker) will trash it all.” Federated introduced cyber coverage last May, adding $100 annually to its home builder policy for those who wish to partake. The policy will pay up to $5,000 for extortion and $50,000 if your computer system is destroyed, and will also address lost business time and for the notification of others that your network has been hacked. “It’s basically getting you back to the safe operational mode you were in before,” Hurst explains. “The problem is, once they hack in, they might be accumulating confidential information and selling it on the dark web,” Hurst notes. “Then you have identity theft claims that you could get sued over. That’s where cyber liability insurance comes into play.” Depending on the security the builder has and the nature of the files that could be accessed, the liability policy could range anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000. Hurst cites a small store chain in Ontario that was hacked. “It destroyed some of their financial records and shut down four stores for a while,” he relates. “It would have cost them tens of thousands, but fortunately they had the bigger policy in place.” Even if your website does not store any critical information, you should still play if safe, Beitner stresses. “The website is the face of the company, the first thing people see; and if someone figures out a ohba.ca
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Has Your Email Address Been Compromised? “I’ve never been hacked, so spending time and money on internet security is not worth it to me.” Asked by OHB magazine what he would say to home builders, renovators and suppliers who thought in such a way, renowned digital security researcher Troy Hunt observes, “It’s a bit like saying, ‘My house has never burned down before, so
spending time and money on building insurance is not worth it to me.’ The only difference is that in this era, you’re almost guaranteed to have an online account or personal data compromised at some time.” Hunt is an Australian regional director with Microsoft and operator of the data breach monitoring website “Have I Been Pwned,”
way to inject a script into your website, they can redirect traffic, capture all the transactions and visits and any contact info and information from clients.” And it usually takes more than your typical IT department to ward off attacks, says Beitner, who notes that 50% of hacked companies aren’t even aware that their systems have been breached. “We are getting calls every day for security assessments. We’re going into law firms and medical practices and finding live attacks occurring inside the network. They have great IT people, but they’re too busy making things work properly and don’t look for the indicators.” Indeed, nearly three-quarters of IT professionals in Canada feel strongly that some of their security solutions are outdated and inadequate, according to software giant Citrix Systems’ 2017 security report, “The Need for a New IT
where you can enter your email address to discover whether it has been compromised in a data breach. To protect yourself, Hunt recommends using “strong passwords—and don’t reuse them.” And for those wondering how they can remember multiple passwords, Hunt suggests you “get yourself a password manager like
1Password to help with that, and use multi-factor authentication where available (many services offer this in the Security section of your account). “But don’t regularly change them, unless there’s suspicion of compromise,” Hunt says. “In fact, that’s been an important change in recent thinking that specifically says it’s counterproductive (to change
Security Architecture: Global Study.” In the report, Canada and South Korea (at 40%) were cited as the least confident that their organizations have the right policies and procedures in place to protect data and their infrastructure. Meanwhile, nine out of 10 Canadian respondents believe that employees’ use of social media in the workplace has a negative impact on security—15% higher than the global average. So should companies treat cyber health like their own bodies and conduct annual check-ups? “A computer check-up is good, but it only works for a day,” says Beitner. “I think the next evolution in the world of computers is constant monitoring—someone looking at the traffic, the logs, firewall alerts.” For all his expertise, though, even Beitner says even he’s not safe from digital intruders. “I wipe my systems fresh
your passwords a lot).” One thing you should do with regularity is to back up your data. “Make sure it’s automated and that you back up to both the cloud and another offsite location. For example, physically rotate a backup disk to a safety deposit box or secure storage elsewhere. This’ll really save you if ever you get hit with ransomware.”
every couple of months—my phones, tablets, laptops. I may or may not have a higher IQ than most, but there are people out there with IQs that are off the charts, and if they want, they have the time and resources to figure out a way to hack me.” So why should companies bother investing time and money to protect their networks if no one is safe? “If you do nothing, it’s guaranteed someone will hack you at some point,” Beitner says. “That’s what these guys count on. They go after the lowest hanging fruit. It’s like breaking into a car—if the door is open, they’ll break in. But if they need to break the glass and make a lot of noise, they’ll just move on to the next car. Why would I spend a month trying to hack in to the CIBC when I can spend no money, send you an email and own your home-building company a few minutes later?” OHB
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problems in plumbing systems before they become an issue. After a Pro Squad member installs Phyn Plus, the device immediately begins to learn about the home’s water system and continues to get smarter over time. When it notices abnormal water usage, Phyn’s mobile app alerts homeowners in real-time and, in the event of a major leak, like a pipe burst, can turn off water automatically with its built-in shutoff valve. The system will be available for purchase initially in the Toronto area through the Uponor Pro Squad starting thsi spring for $850. Licensed plumbing professionals interested in joining the Uponor Pro Squad can apply for consideration via Uponorprosquad.com. Once accepted into the program, authorized installers will receive comprehensive training and ongoing plumbing and
It’s no revelation that there’s a significant shortage of qualified tradespeople in the current construction industry, but a new app is helping employers and available workers find each other. WRKS (wrksapp.com) allows job seekers to sign up and create a profile (field of work they specialize in, level of education, expected compensation and location) so that WRKS can match them with the right companies. Employers, meanwhile, can sign up and easily scroll through categories—from carpenters to electricians, etc.—to find ontario home builder Spring 2018
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THE BUILDING CODE HAS CHANGED.
a suitable worker for a project or even permanent employment. Parties can chat directly with each other online. WRKS officially launched in February, although a six-month beta period last year passed with flying colours, including a Toronto-based landscape company that used the app to quickly connect with a tradesman and offer him employment.
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2018 Palette Highlights Richer but Subdued Tones
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Taking cues from the continued trend of deeper, richer tones dominating the outdoor design space, Royal Building Products’ 2018 Exterior Colour Palette highlights complementary colours, including Brownstone, Heritage Blue, Harvard Slate, Weathered Gray, Storm and Sterling. “We continue to see homeowners gravitating towards darker, bold colours and then mixing in neutrals when it comes to their exterior design choices, says Kriss Swint, director of interactive strategy and design, Royal Building Products. “Blues are still dominating, while cooler tones, such as brown and grey, are gaining more popularity. We chose our palette to respond to these growing trends, like pairing Heritage Blue siding with Harvard Slate shake and Sterling trim.” Homeowners can try designing their own homes with preselected colour combinations featuring the 2018 palette using Royal’s online design tool, HomePlay. ohba.ca
awar d s
OHBA MEMBERS earn AWARDS AT U.S. NATIONALS OHBA members figured prominently in the National Sales and Marketing Awards gala Jan. 9 in Orlando at the 2018 International Builders’ Show. Organized by the U.S.-based National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the event acknowledged the previous year’s most outstanding work in residential real estate sales, marketing and design. Tridel captured top honours in three categories on the night, winning Best Commercial for its Islington Terrace – Bloor Promenade project, Best Computer-Generated Sales Tool for Bianca Condominiums, and Best Website/Microsite for a Builder in a partnership with The Brand Factory. (Collecdev and SigNature Communities both claimed silver in the latter category.) Tridel added a pair of silver medals on the marketing side for its Aquabella condos. Losani Homes’ Central Park in Hamilton won for Best Brochure for a Master Planned Community, and added silver for Best Presentation Centre. Geranium Homes/Pemberton Group earned gold for Best Logo Design for their Friday Harbour creation in Innisfil, while Windmill Development Group’s Arch Lofts in Toronto earned silver. Friday Harbour collected a pair of silver medals in marketing categories. The Sales Team of the Year award went to Marianne Del Giudice, Yanny Lee and Tania Waheed of Markham’s International Home Marketing Group. Lisa Chester earned silver for Sales Manager of the Year. Natascha Pieper of Collecdev Inc. picked up silver for Marketing Professional of the Year. Collectdev also claimed silver in Best Marketing of a Green/Sustainable Program for Westwood Gardens. Other silver medals went to Branthaven, Empire, Menkes, Minto, Aspen Ridge Homes, Montana Steele, 52 Pick-Up, CentreCourt Developments and Lanterra Developments. ohba.ca
MAYBE IT’S TIME TO CHANGE YOUR INSULATION SUPPLIER. Plasti-Fab Insulation retains its R-value for
the life of the building. Our greener EPS insulation has been tested and proven for 50 years. Protect your project. Protect yourself. It’s the code. Learn more at plastifab.com 1-888-446-5377
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Design
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Empire Communities has launched a new series in partnership with design expert Andrew Pike. The eight-episode Love Design, Live Empire video series filmed on location in five new model homes at the Riverland community in Breslau, Ontario, will inspire homeowners to live beautifully in a space that reflects their style. Founder and principal designer at Andrew Pike Interiors Inc., and a nationally recognized media personality, Pike’s bite-sized videos offer tips and advice for every room in the home. By subscribing to the video series, viewers gain access to new content each week, including style guides, design tips and budget planning templates to design their dream home. “By working with Andrew to create five very different, yet viable design styles, we’ve made sure that there’s something for everyone,” says Sue MacKay, V.P. of Marketing at Empire Communities. Information can be found at lovedesignliveempire.com, where homeowners can also access a Design Quiz to identify their design personality. going green
Canada Among World LEED’ers Canada once again ranks second in the annual Top 10 Countries and Regions for LEED list. Curated by the U.S. Green Building Council, the ohba.ca
ontario home builder Spring 2018
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creators of the LEED green building program, the list recognizes markets outside the U.S. that are using LEED to create healthier, more sustainable spaces where citizens live, learn, work and play. Canada earned the distinction for its current total of 2,970 LEED certified projects totaling more than 40.77 million gross square metres of space.
B u s i n e ss
Icynene Should Benefit From Merger Icynene, a leader in high-performance spray foam insulation solutions, and Lapolla Industries Inc. have finalized their previously announced merger. The alliance should provide Canadian builders, architects, contractors and end-users with a more robust product mix and will accelerate the pace of research and innovation within the spray foam insulation category. The duo, which will operate as Icynene-Lapolla, will continue to manufacture and distribute spray foam polyurethane insulation products, roof coating systems and related equipment, while adding to the support of their extensive contractor network. The company will be headquartered in Houston, while maintaining its Canadian offices and manufacturing facility in Mississauga.
OHB ad 4.528 x 4.833 final.pdf
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Spectrum names Equipco as New Sales Agency
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Spectrum Brands has appointed G.S Equipco Ltd. as its official Ontario manufacturers agency for its plumbing division. Beginning March 1, Equipco assumed sales for Pfister and Fortis brand accounts across the province. Spectrum has worked alongside Equipco in Western Canada since ohba.ca
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2016, however new regional expansion marks the start of a promising partnership.
Stanley Black & Decker Adds Irwin, Lenox to Portfolio Stanley Black & Decker Canada has finalized a deal that brings Irwin and Lenox into its Global Tools and Storage Group. Irwin Tools is a well-known manufacturer and distributor of a broad line of professional hand tools and power tool accessories, while Lenox has more than of a century of expertise in cutting technology, with categories from reciprocating saw blades to utility knives.
new posts
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Bringing It All Together
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Getting Your Project Built and Sold Leasing out your Building Affordable Housing Solutions Condominium Documents and Closings
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Weil-McLain, a leading North American designer and manufacturer of hydronic comfort heating systems, has hired Brian McCabe as Regional Sales Manager for the GTA and Central Ontario. McCabe will focus on commercial projects and be responsible for working with Weil-McLain Canada’s existing sales distribution network, calling on engineers, design/build contractors and wholesalers. Convoy Supply, a North American leader in the distribution of construction materials with four Southern Ontario offices, has announced the addition of Jamie Mantle to the new position of V.P. of Sales, adding to its team of industry experts. Mantle will be responsible for the management of all the company’s sales and customer-facing activities for both the Canadian and U.S. territories. Mantle spent the last 14 years as V.P. of Sales at Soprema. OHB ohba.ca
Product Focus I de a s for B u i l de r s & R e n ovat or s
e activ duty
or g indo Sensin ions giv es it d n dge e co a new v e lu x
Offering many high-performance upgrades, Casa Bella’s Architectural Plus windows feature Super Spacer technology to block the heat escape path and eliminate condensation.
Opening Up New Possibilities What’s trending in windows and doors? By Da n O ’ R e i l ly
Ever wonder where the word “window” comes from? It’s derived from the Old Norse term “vindauga,” which means both “wind” and “eye”—the idea probably being that it both protects one’s abode from exterior elements while simultaneously allowing you to view the great outdoors. Since the Vikings were marauding across Europe more than a millennium ago, manufacturers have been finding ways to refine that which leads us in and out of our homes. And the year ahead is no different, with new products, the enhancement of existing lines and new technologies all advancing the quality of windows and doors. Among those at the forefront of technological evolution is Pella ohba.ca
Corporation, with its Insynctive technology. While first introduced in 2015 as an add-on security sensor system with its windows and doors, Pella, through an alliance with security technology provider Resolution Products, is now installing fully integrated and hidden wireless sensors into windows and doors during the fabrication process, which link with most major home security systems, according to Insynctive product manager Caleb Klein. Available in the Designer Series windows, Designer Series patio doors, Architect Series and Pella-branded entry doors, the sensors don’t impact performance or aesthetics and can be connected with mobile devices. That means the system can be activated by
homeowners who, while out, may suddenly realize they may have forgotten to lock the front door. “Home automation and home connectivity is a huge trend right now and having security sensors built into windows and doors is part of that trend,” Klein says. Builders can purchase an entire package of windows and doors with the technology or only have sensors in the doors, says Klein, suggesting Insynctive can be a ‘differentiator’ for those reluctant to pay the extra costs for the technology. “We know that contractors and builders who use Pella and use the Pella logo in their ads see a significant lift in the perception of their overall quality and design by homeowners,” says Klein. ontario home builder Spring 2018
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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
Product Focus “The stories we’ve heard from customers include how they like that it is an invisible, integrated system that adds an extra layer of security to their home. One homeowner appreciates the audible beep that is heard when the front door is opened. More than a few times she had to return her young child back into the house after hearing the beep.” Later this year Pella will be unveiling even more “exciting” upgrades to the technology, although Klein cannot divulge details. Elsewhere on the technological front, Ply Gem continues to identify and scope out new products and technologies at its Insight Center, a dedicated research and applied science centre that opened in 2016 in Durham North Carolina near its corporate headquarters. In Ontario, the company is responding to the growth of mixed-use buildings and high-rise apartments with the release of its Arch Aluminum Window Series. Intended to address performance and durability demands, the Arch gives builders and architects the flexibility to customize multiple assembly and opening configurations, including combination casement, awning and fixed window profiles through the use of structural mullions with continuous frames. Consisting of multiple windows in one opening, continuous frames provide extra air- and watertightness for highperformance and exceptional weather protection, says John Vukanovich, V.P. of marketing with Ply Gem Building Products Canada. Ply Gem’s Arch Aluminum Window Series provides huge customization options thanks to its use of structural mullions with continuous frames.
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INNOVATION CORNER
Cutting Down On Door Installation Time Looking to cut installation times? The new Solution Series door frame from Trimlite is the market’s first one-piece, screwless door frame system. Seven years in development, it removes unsightly frame plugs that take ages to install, while heightening curb appeal by making the door and glass lites the stars of the entry. A 36-year-old company with an office in Burlington, Trimlite’s frames can be paired with 11 energy-efficient, modern glass styles. A compression seal protects against water infiltration, while interlocking joints dramatically streamline installation by reducing tedious, repetitive steps. “When it comes to doors and frames, screw holes and plugs are the sore thumbs of the industry,” says Trimlite Director of Market-
ing Adam Wendt. “Traditional door frames require a huge investment of time and effort to hang and often do not produce the aesthetic that homeowners desire. The Solution Series removes all those challenges, while avoiding unsightly gaps or unfinished screw plugs.” Rigorously tested to withstand extreme temperatures from -30 to 180C, the ABS plastic frames are available in white and tan with vertical woodgrain patterns and can be painted or stained to match any colour scheme. “Trends are changing in the housing industry,” said Wendt. “Smaller glass doorlites are becoming more prevalent, but homeowners want frames to be hidden from view and be unobtrusive. A durable, low-profile frame that is easy to install is a win-win.”
Interlocking joints dramatically streamline installation time while a compression seal keeps out water with Trimlite’s one-piece, screwless Solution Series.
perfect match Technology is also playing a more prominent role in garage doors. Although not high on the priority list for many purchasers, especially first-time buyers, they are crucial for generating curb appeal. Possibilities range from interactive technology enabling homeowners to change the door appearance on a regular basis to doors with photovoltaic cells in panels and glass that will generate energy similar to rooftop solar panels, says Jean-Francois Morin, marketing advisor for
St-Georges, Quebec-based Garaga Inc. More elaborate designs, doors with thicker steel to prevent break-ins, and garages with higher ceilings to create more storage space—an increasingly common request as lots become smaller—are all popular options, says Morin. But of current interest is a partnership Garaga has formed with entrance door manufacturer the Novatech Group to coordinate the design and decorative glass of front doors and garage doors to create a more seamless attractive look. Builders usually send their purchases to a garage door showroom to finalize ontario home builder Spring 2018
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Product Focus their design, explains Morin of the design coordination process. Garaga is working closely with Novatech to expand the offerings, says Morin, citing the just-off-the-line Chocolate Walnut as one example—a 1.75”-thick polyurethane-injected steel door that undergoes a special painting process to simulate the look of varnished wood.
Velux’s Active indoor sensorbased system can control skylights and blinds based on internal conditions.
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP Significant inroads in skylight development are also being made. Through a partnership with French technology firm Netatmo, Oakvillebased Velux Inc. will be unveiling Active later this year. This is an indoor-sensor-based system that can control skylights and blinds based on room temperature, humidity and CO2 levels, while also taking into account external weather conditions. The app-based system will also notify homeowners when those indoor conditions become harmful, says Velux National Marketing and Communications Manager Arethea Harris. One of the product’s most attractive features, she notes, is its compatibility with programmable skylights the company has manufactured over the past 10 years.
ECO-FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE In the world of residential doors and windows, a track record of combining sustainability, style and appearance remains a recipe for success. Fibertec Fiberglass Windows
and Doors Marketing and Product Relations Manager Karlyn Knafo believes its 300 Series Casement Windows falls into that category. “It’s our top performing window,” says Knafo, citing a long list of features, including a 90-degree crank and a closed-back frame, meaning all edges of the frame are enclosed and filled with Styrofoam insulation, which helps to improve the U-value of the window. While casement-style windows are nothing new to the market, Knafo says Fibertec has advanced its technology by adding features such as a triple weatherstrip seal, durable hardware mechanisms and a high-quality sealant for the best argon gas retention. Casa Bella’s vinyl Architectural Plus Series has also benefitted from technology. Exceeding Energy Star requirements, it uses a ‘Super Spacer’ Teaming up with Novatech has helped Garaga create more seamless designs, including this new Chocolate Walnut garage door.
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technology that blocks the heat escape path, eliminates condensation and helps prevent mould growth. Other features range from triple weatherstripping for an airtight perimeter seal to stainless-steel dual-arm hardware. Options include a high-performance package consisting of a foam-filled frame, triple-glass and double Low-E glazing for an energy-efficient improvement of up to 45% over standard windows, says marketing and business development manager Paul Gitlin.
STANDING THE TEST OF TIME Although released four years ago, the Fallsview and Timberview window lines from Stoney Creek-based DEL Windows are still hot commodities. The Fallsview is a German-manufactured extruded PVC window and the Timberview is a hybrid PVC/wood interior window available with an oak or clear pine finish. Geared to the custom home market, both come standard with 270, a dualcoated Low-E product on the inside of the exterior pane of glass of the sealed unit, and i89 glass on the outside surface facing the interior of the home. “Combined, these two separate Low-E products provide an R5 value,” says sales manager Mario Cialini. ohba.ca
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Product Focus
What Will the U-Value Code Change Mean to You? In anticipation of the implementation of the “net-zero energy” building code by 2030, changes to the Ontario Building Code U-Values are being proposed. The values would decrease from the current standard of 1.6 to 1.4 in 2020, with a further decrease to 1.2 by 2022. U-value measures the rate of heat transfer in window or door units. The lower the value, the better the product’s ability to resist heat conduction, notes OHBA Technical Adviser Shawn Good.
Unlike Energy Star Require-ments, implemented over 15 to 20 years, these changes would be rapid and have a significant impact for manufacturers, suppliers and home builders. “There is a big cost difference between double-pane and triple-pane (windows),” notes Good, explaining how lowering the U-value will add a significant cost, with the largest impact to sliding windows and patio doors. Noting the window manufacturing industry has made
Casement-style windows get an environmental seal of approval with upgrades from Fibertec.
Some of the other features of the two lines include specialty glass and “functional, durable and attractive handle hardware” that folds flat when not in use,” says Cialini. “Made from high-quality materials, they are available in a range of colours to suit any installation.” At the same, Cialini says there are design changes underway in product lines, especially doors, and they’re being driven by consumers opting for higher and wider doors. To meet that demand, DEL is offering more selection in eightfoot-high steel and fibreglass slabs. Similar comments are voiced by 76
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great strides over the past decade, Good believes that with the appropriate lead time, cost-effective ways can be found to meet the proposed requirements. And what can builders and trades do to prepare for the changes? Good advises them to continue educating both themselves and their buyers and ensure products are installed correctly and professionally, focusing on flashing details. A very important consideration is solar heat gain and the preservation of occupant
comfort as the building envelope of homes becomes tighter. This requires a coordinated “whole home approach—from the designer, to the manufacturer, to the builder,” Good says. Builders and renovators may also want to direct their clients to the Natural Resources Canada website (nrcan.gc.ca/ energy/funding/efficiency/4947), which provides a wealth of information on a range of rebates, grants and other programs that provinces, territories and utilities offer to homeowners seeking to improve energy efficiency.
Pella is now installing fully integrated and hidden wireless sensors into its Insynctive windows and doors during the fabrication process.
Bigger is better for Phantom Screens, whose new offering can be designed for doorways up to 24 feet wide and 10 feet high.
Stephen Attfield, general manager of Ontario Screen Systems Inc., authorized distributor of Phantom Screens for the province. “The size of door and window openings has been growing larger and wider in recent years, and homeowners are increasingly looking for ways to bridge the gap between their homes’ interiors and their outdoor space.” With that homeowner demand in mind, Phantom Screens has created its newest product offering, a manual retractable wall screen designed for doorways and openings up to 24 feet wide and 10 feet high. Ideal for oversized sliding glass door systems and
folding glass walls, these manually operated oversized screens feature a thumb latch integrated into the handle for controlled openings and mesh that is completely secured into the track to prevent unwanted pests. They disappear out of sight when not in use. Customizable stopping points that permit easy in and out access highlight the design. Designed with the natural flow of traffic in mind, they allow homeowners to personalize where they would like the screen to open and close anywhere along the track. Ideal for busy families and marauding Vikings alike. OHB ohba.ca
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2015-06-23 5:25 PM ontario home builder spring 2018 77
Words to Build By
“People don’t always know what they want in a house, but they do know what they don’t want.” Stephen Tobey, Owner, Gordon Tobey Developments Inc.
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ohba.ca
Ontario Provincial District Council
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