Art Of The Deal How Top Pros Negotiate
Pro Painting From Solo To Boss page 45
page 38 Maxwell On The Road Power Tool
Preview page 49
OF DAMON BENNETT
A decade as a TV contractor is only part of his journey
Ten years as a TV contractor is only part of his journey OF DAMON BENNETT
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Kyle Kenyon
Kyle Kenyon
Kenyon Construction
Kenyon Construction
Rob Borthistle of Selkirk Home Hardware Building Centre knows that contractors don’t have time to waste. “Getting materials to the job site when you say you’re going to get it there is key,” he adds. Kyle Kenyon, a former employee of Rob’s who is now the owner/operator of Kenyon Construction, agrees. Selkirk HHBC supplied everything from drywall and lumber to roofing for a recent build of his.
Rob Borthistle of Selkirk Home Hardware Building Centre knows that contractors don’t have time to waste. “Getting materials to the job site when you say you’re going to get it there is key,” he adds. Kyle Kenyon, a former employee of Rob’s who is now the owner/operator of Kenyon Construction, agrees. Selkirk HHBC supplied everything from drywall and lumber to roofing for a recent build of his.
Constant traffic and powerlines made job site deliveries particularly tricky, “but they were able to do it and get it to us on time,” Kyle says. Every Home Building Centre and Home Hardware Building Centre Owner knows that service is about more than dedicated sales staff or ease of ordering. “We treat our customers the way we’d want to be treated by our suppliers,” says Borthistle – something Kyle Kenyon knows better than anyone else.
Constant traffic and powerlines made job site deliveries particularly tricky, “but they were able to do it and get it to us on time,” Kyle says. Every Home Building Centre and Home Hardware Building Centre Owner knows that service is about more than dedicated sales staff or ease of ordering. “We treat our customers the way we’d want to be treated by our suppliers,” says Borthistle – something Kyle Kenyon knows better than anyone else.
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Rebuild
Creative Eye photographer visits a stunning reno on Glencairn Avenue, Toronto.
If you're a solo painter who is wondering if you should hire some more talent and make yourself into a real firm, read this.
Online Contest 10
You could win a Festool carpentry saw by posting three of your daily priorities on our website.
Editorials 12
Rob on a negotiating fail; Steve on a couple of negotiating superstars.
Voices 16
The best of the recent contractor posts at canadiancontractor.ca.
Site Notes 20
CHBA’s first Net Zero Energy certified homes.
Show Preview:
Construct Canada 22
A sneak peek at Canada’s largest trade show for renovation and home builder professionals.
Editor’s Choice 31
Hot new products selected by our editorial team.
Stuff We Like 49
Steve Maxwell visits Baltimore to see one of the most show-business-like events ever seen in the power tool industry.
What Would You Do? 58
Send us your solutions to this month’s contractor dilemma and you could win a cool tool from DeWALT.
Our next issue (November/December) will feature an article called The Rule of 3. We will be looking at the well-known productivity technique of focusing on three vital tasks, every day, that MUST be done, no matter what.
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Canadian Contractor, established in 2000, is published 6 times a year by Annex Business Media.
Circulation Manager Beata Olechnowicz bolechnowicz@annexbizmedia.com Visit us online
• Go to www.canadiancontractor.ca
• Type Rule of 3 in the Search Bar
• Post your own Rule of 3 in the Comment field under the story.
1. “I return all calls, every day, within two hours.”
2. “I leave home in the morning with a prioritized checklist of my most important tasks.”
3. “I schedule at least 30 minutes a day for sales calls.”
Editor Steve Payne spayne@canadiancontractor.ca
Contributing Editors Rob Blackstien, John Bleasby, Alec Caldwell, Mike Draper, Peter Leonard, Steve Maxwell
Art Director Lisa Zambri
Publisher Rob Koci rkoci@canadiancontractor.ca
Account Coordinator
Tracey Hanson thanson@@annexbizmedia.com
I got caught in Giveaway Creep ”
Rob Koci Publisher
rkoci@canadiancontractor.ca
By Rob Koci
In this issue, our writer Rob Blackstien has a terrific article on negotiation secrets of the best contractors in Canada. I wish I had read that piece years ago when I was on the tools.
All negotiation hinges on value but there is no intrinsic value in anything, only perceived or situational value. Rain is rain… priceless to a thirsty man but a curse to one on a picnic.
Perception of value changes over time, often rapidly. When I was starting out as a carpenter, I negotiated a sweet deal on a simple vinyl tile installation. The customer was desperate to get it done before his tenant moved in. At the time of our negotiation, his urgency made it worth much more than it cost me to install. I was being paid $750 for little more than a half-day of my labour.
Unfortunately, he was home when I did the installation so it didn’t take him long to do the math and change his perception. What looked like a great deal in the morning now looked like a rip-off. He “reopened” our negotiated deal and ended up paying me half of what he originally agreed.
I once hammered out a deal that I realized in hindsight was really bad for me. I got caught in “Giveaway Creep.” I was so obsessed with having this client on board that I lost sight of what I had given up to get him. What I perceived as a good deal in the meeting looked terrible 10 minutes later in my car.
My perception of the deal changed, so I wrote him an email explaining my mistake and outlining my unilaterally altered deal, and quickly found out how intimately perceived values are intertwined. My change of “perception” precipitated a violent, drastic change of his perception towards me, and it was not in my favour. We survived the ordeal, but not without much embarrassment and even more costly concessions from me.
Building the perception of value is not merely a good thing, it’s the only thing. Shape it, protect it, backfill it with solid results. Never give anyone an opportunity to change their opinion of your extraordinary value. It’s delicate work, but it’s the only work that matters to a successful business.
By Steve Payne
You are highly unlikely to become a successful contractor – profitable over the long term – without being as sharp a negotiator as you are a builder.
Yet of all the business skills that renovators and home builders talk about when they get together at our annual RenoFocus sessions, learning to be a better negotiator rarely gets a mention.
When contractors talk about moving their businesses to the next level, “technology” is frequently talked about. Then there’s “building your team,” “social media,” “green building,” developing your “systems” and then, eventually, “salesmanship.” It’s my experience that negotiation training is rarely sought out by most contractors. Why is this? Possibly because many contractors think they are pretty good negotiators already. Unfortunately, vast numbers of them aren’t. When we look at the wide spreads among gross margins and profits in our industry, it’s pretty clear that some contractors are much better deal-cutters than others.
If you know that your negotiation skills are not as sharp as they need to be, here are three excellent print sources of negotiating expertise.
Number one is the book On Negotiating by Mark McCormack. McCormack started one of the world’s most aggressive and influential sports agencies, International Management Group (IMG), with about $50 in his wallet in the early 60s. I predict that you will learn more about negotiating from this book than you will if you read 50 others. It’s masterful.
Then, pick up a copy of Relentless, the Ted Rogers autobiography he published in 2008, shortly before his death. Whether you love or hate Rogers as a company, you will be amazed, if you read this book, at Ted’s unorthodox and creative methods of cutting deals that he had no real reason to obtain. Ted’s secret was that he knew that he was never going to be the smartest person in the room. So he decided to be the best prepared person in the room - especially when numbers were going to be hammered out.
For an immediate schooling in better negotiating, turn to page 38 in this issue, and read Rob Blackstien’s article The Art of the Deal, in which top contractors share how they forge better contracts with even the most difficult clients.
Happy negotiating.
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We’ve written about ICFs extensively in Canadian Contractor –and we will do so again. They are just too good a technology to remain the secret weapon of a minority of custom homebuilders and renovators. Here is a post about ICFs from our loyal reader Bill McCance in the Southern Gulf Islands of BC.
Pacific ICF contributed AMVIC ICF forms and brochures to a trade show in Fort McMurray on August 20th, prior to buildings being rebuilt, so as to inform builders and owners of the suitability and practicality of Insulated Concrete Forms.
The cost savings are many. An ICF foundation can save you 60 per cent of your time versus traditional forming. Plus there is no interior framing inside the basement required. You can get R22 or R 30 forms. Overall costs are several dollars per square foot less expensive. The biggest bonus is the 50 per cent energy savings of ICF compared to wood framing and R22 batt insulated walls. Air and vapour barrier, structure, studding, and sound barrier are all ‘one step’ with ICF.
In fact, with the newest building codes and insulation on the exterior of the envelope right down to the floor in the basement, Insulated Concrete Forms present the fastest construction and the wind does not blow through the wall. The heat stays inside and cold stays outside, thus reducing utility costs. And there’s no need to use lumber: Take the ICF right to the roof for the best performance!
AMPEX also makes insulation of R10-R16 for under slabs and a super fast method for installing radiant in-floor heating tubes in the concrete slab.
If you do waste your time and build a wood-framed house, there is an exterior wall insulation – Silverboard – of many R-values that you can an add outside the wood frame to make your building meet the newest energy ratings in the building code. Plus, no thermal bridging. With these methods, builders and owners can win and save time and money.
Bill McCance, Mayne Island, BC
On July 1, Newfoundland and New Brunswick increased their respective PST rates by 2 per cent, upping their HST to 15 per cent. While the homebuilders’ associations in these province have been helping builders to understand the rules, some contractors are still confused. Here are a couple of online posts about that…
“I
have to find an extra couple thousand dollars…”
My issue is with the fact that I have a sizeable project that was mid-stream when the new HST came into effect. The contract was signed based on 13 per cent HST before the Newfoundland budget was announced. It’s not like I could purchase all my material or pay my subcontractors in advance before July 1. So now I have to find an extra couple thousand dollars in my budget to cover the cost of the extra 2 per cent PST. But I’m pretty confident that that’s about the least of our ill-elected Liberal government’s concerns. Any new quotes I submit, customers are asking why things are so expensive. I politely suggest they call their local MHA and ask them.
Todd Collins
Here is a reply from a fellow Newfoundland contractor
“Plus applicable taxes” are the words you need! In my company we never quote anything with any tax in our price. Every quote includes “plus applicable taxes.” We provide services in several provinces where taxes differ from our home province and we deal with many First Nations where taxes may not be applicable. And while increases or changes in tax amounts seldom occur, they can and will and “plus applicable taxes” covers us. If the job in question was quoted as a lump sum without the taxes being separately itemized, the customer may have a valid case. If the taxes were shown separately at 13 per cent then a reasonable case can be made the extra 2 per cent should be paid –because the tax increase was beyond the control of the contractor.
Dave Currie
When you roll the dice, it’s just a matter of time before lady luck runs out and there’s a price to be paid! How about these two workers in this photo I took recently (see next page)? They are chancing their luck on their badly-constructed scaffolding. They were pointing the brickwork on a homeowner’s main residence.
I took this photo the day before the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) showed up at the same site. By then, they had disappeared and the scaffolding was gone, too. Only my photo remains as evidence of their short game of Russian Roulette.
I’m sure these guys will be back on the job, in a similar set up, soon. Some people may say that they will deserve what they get if they fall to their deaths, or are confined to wheelchairs for the rest
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of their lives. But that won’t help their families, who are totally innocent of wrongdoing even as these men break the law.
The guy in my photo (right) is working off two open planks, meaning the work surface is not fully covered, as required by law. There are open edges for workers to fall from. Where are their guardrails? They are supposed to fully enclose workers from falling. There are no access ladders to climb up and down on –they are using monkey bars instead. The law requires a tied down ladder as the means of access to all levels of scaffolding.
The scaffold was clearly not level, was not tied in, had no safety pins. A disaster waiting to happen.
Now, get this. The motto for this company was, “Reface with Elegance.”
Sorry guys, there is no elegance anywhere in sight here. Only stupidity.
Alec Caldwell
Canadian Association of Renovators and Home Services (www.carahs.org)
It’s all about Ministry of Labour profits!
I find it laughable how precious everyone has become. Whatever happened to being responsible for one’s own actions? The last time I checked, the prevailing theory was “survival of the fittest,” not survival of the most well-padded or most obedient. If someone builds an unsafe scaffold and gets hurt it’s their own fault, not their employer and not the home owner. The fact that the MOL and the province profit from the fines they hand out to people like this is just as nauseating as these workers’ half-assed attempt at constructing scaffolding.
Chris Langman
Actually Chris, it is my understanding that the proceeds from fines issued by the Ontario Ministry of Labour go to the municipality in which they were issued, not to the Ministry or the province. I agree we should all be responsible for our actions and the legislation is also geared towards that, but it is also geared towards those in authority, i.e., supervisors and employers, who should know better, to ensure compliance.
I was once a young ignorant worker (not much has changed but I did age a bit) just working hard trying to make a living. One day,
I met a MOL inspector who had discovered that my employer had not been following regulations and – unbeknownst to me and my colleagues – we had already received 1,300 hours exposure to type 3 asbestos. We blindly did what our employer told us to do, assuming that what we were doing was right. These two gentleman in Alec’s photo may or may not know what they are doing is unsafe. They might think it is but if they are told to do it and have hungry kids at home, does their ignorance and need to make an income mean they should deserve the possibility of getting seriously hurt or dying?
Matt D.
“More
rules, more bureaucracy, more taxes.”
I hope Alec had his car in park before he took that picture. What about mandatory training for using extension cords? Or get your mandatory “Working with Table Saws” training? Would you go to jobsites and take pictures of overloaded outlets and saws without guards? More rules, more bureaucracy, more taxes.
Rob
Rob, seriously? You think that scaffolding rules are just “more bureaucracy”? By the way, Canadian Contractor has complained way louder than any other trade magazine in our industry about bureaucracies, stupid regulations and taxes masquerading as “fees.” We get that. But that doesn’t extend to endorsing idiocy like we see in that photo.
Steve Payne
Steve, I’m serious about less government. If we’re not affecting anyone else why can’t we use scaffolding the way we want? Because the MOL cares about our innocent families? Give me a break. More people die legally from liver cirrhosis every year than do from breaking the law with scaffolding. Where’s the government’s bleeding heart then? Some things should just be common sense and left alone. Also, I think it’s in poor taste to post an article calling these guys stupid and mocking their slogan.
Rob
After that tennis match, let’s let Alec Caldwell have the last word on safety. In another online post, he complained about the stupidity of having ten provinces that won’t accept each other’s safety certifications…
Maybe it’s time to get rid of the trade barriers between provinces in Canada, when it comes to safety training for construction workers.
Migrating construction trades move around our country to find work and help in the process of continuing to build our great country. At present many workers are coming into Ontario from Alberta, crossing provincial boundaries with their existing safety training certificates to find these certificates are obsolete in Ontario.
Another example is crossing the Macdonald-Cartier bridge into Quebec from Ottawa: Suddenly your Ontario working at heights training certificate becomes useless when you reach the other side. Are there different ways to wear a full body harness in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, BC, Newfoundland and other provinces? Further,
does the safe way to use a lanyard or, for that matter, the three accepted anchor points change? So why is there a need for new training every time a contractor crosses a provincial boundary?
We all know the answer: It’s called protecting one’s own turf. It’s the very same in the beer industry. When you buy beer in one province, then take it in your vehicle to another, limitations are put on what quantity you can transport. Doesn’t this sound like the type of thing that countries, not provinces, should be doing? Do we have one country here or ten countries?
Here’s a thought. In the recent Olympic games in Rio, there was a Canadian medal count. They didn’t show the medal count per each Canadian province. So why can’t we follow this same model and have Canada-wide standardized training medals (certificates) for each training requirement?
Maybe it’s time to remove these restrictive measures and the limitations they impose on where contractors work. We need to deliver standardized safety training for every worker countrywide. After all, as someone said recently, “It’s 2016!”
Alec Caldwell
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On July 25, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) qualified five Net Zero Energy (NZE) homes built by Reid’s Heritage Homes, Guelph, ON and the first Net Zero Energy ready (NZEr) home built by Lucchetta Homes, Welland, ON under the CHBA's Net Zero Energy Labelling Program Pilot. These are the first homes to qualify for this prestigious recognition.
A Net Zero Energy home is one that is designed, modelled and constructed to produce as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis. An NZEr home meets the same technical specifications as an NZE home, but doesn’t have the renewable energy generation installed yet – this is left for purchase and installation in the future.
“The CHBA would like to congratulate the teams at Reid’s Heritage Homes and Lucchetta Homes for being the first to achieve this milestone under our new program,” says Sonja Winkelmann, Director, Net Zero Energy Housing. “We would also like to thank the CHBA’s NZE Qualified experts that supported the project – the Service Organization EnerQuality and Energy Advisor Andy
Oding – for the third party testing and inspections. Together, the builders, their teams, and CHBA have reached a monumental point in Canadian housing.”
“Our national Home Buyer Preference Study confirmed that today’s consumers are looking for energy efficient homes. The industry is ready and eager to deliver these NZE homes, the ultimate in energy efficiency, to Canada’s discerning homebuyers. Our Net Zero Energy Labelling Program identifies the best of the best in home energy efficiency, and provides Third Party confirmation for both the industry and the consumer,” says Kevin Lee, Chief Executive Officer.
“The CHBA supports continued improvement in the performance of Canada’s housing through voluntary measures like the Net Zero Energy initiative, advancing innovation in our
industry and providing excellent options for homebuyers, while at the same time protecting affordability. This Program will help to meet the housing aspirations of Canadians, and renew Canadian leadership in high performance housing,” said Lee.
These have been anything but the lazy days of summer for 18-year old Phoebe Janela Tagumpay. While most summer camps fill up quickly with students keen on hiking, canoeing and swimming, Tagumpay has been roofing, framing and flooring. She’s one of 16 Edmonton high school students who jumped at the chance to sign up for the CLAC’s (Christian Labour Association of Canada) first
summer construction boot camp and the opportunity to build green houses.
“It really was an incredible experience,” said Tagumpay. “It was my first exposure to construction, using tools and skills that I’ve never used before.”
Tagumpay, who lives on the south side of Edmonton, was up at 6 am each day to catch a bus to the north side of the city for the two-week program. While it ran from 8 am to 4 pm at a district high school, she often arrived before the official start.
“I didn’t mind the early mornings because I loved what I was doing,” added Tagumpay. In fact she and the other students were so dedicated that they returned for five days after the boot camp ended to finish the project. The students built four greenhouses, two of which have been donated to local schools for sustainability projects, and the others sold with the proceeds going to charity.
“The boot camp was a great way to introduce young people to the trades,” said Brad Bent, CLAC’s Director of Training – Alberta. “We wanted them to see that the trades open up all kinds of career possibilities.”
The camp succeeded in making a lasting impression on Tagumpay. She was considering a career in business administration but now plans to pursue construction-engineering technology at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
The summer boot camp, in conjunction with the Edmonton Public School Board and Merit is an extension of CLAC’s High School 2 Hard Hats program that began in 2011. Since then, CLAC has introduced hundreds of high school students to new skills including welding, carpentry, scaffolding, and electrical. CLAC’s goal is to expand its program through partnerships in each province to expose as many students as possible to the skilled trades.
CLAC is the labour partner of the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA).
“CLAC is a leader in the kinds of innovative programs and training that are renewing the workforce of tomorrow,” said
Darrel Reid, VP of Policy and Advocacy at PCA. “With up to a quarter of Canada’s construction workforce retiring this decade, we need to do everything we can to show the next generation the benefits of a career in the skilled trades.” cc
Join CANADIAN CONTRACTOR at the largest construction show in Canada, which includes the HomeBuilder & Renovator Expo – a terrific place for you to view the next generation of residential construction products and techniques.
The Buildings Show is home to HomeBuilder & Renovator Expo, Construct Canada, PM Expo, World of Concrete Pavilion and IIDEXCanada. It is North America’s largest exposition, networking and educational event for the design, construction and real estate industries. Attendees can interact with more than 1,600+ exhibits, including 100+ international exhibitors, to discover and source the latest in design and construction innovation in products, technologies, best practices and applications. With a roster of more than 500 speakers and 350 accredited and industry relevant seminars to choose from over the three days, attendees can customize their professional development.
• Building design, construction, retrofit and management professionals in the private and public sectors.
• Thousands of building owners, property managers, buyers of retrofit and renovation products, and all levels of government purchasers.
• International visitors and buyers of construction and building materials: Far East, Europe, Central America and Africa
• Active members from over 100 leading industry and professional associations in Canada.
For more information on The Buildings Show, visit www.thebuildingsshow.com.
HomeBuilder & Renovator Expo
As Canada’s largest exposition and conference on residential exposition and educational forum for residential builders, developers, and renovators as well as architects, contractors, and specifiers, HomeBuilder & Renovator will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building. And don't forget to drop by the Canadian Contractor booth (341) and say hello.
For more information on HomeBuilder & Renovator Expo, visit www.homebuilderexpo.ca.
By John Bleasby
Many Canadians feel they already know Damon Bennett, and to some extent they do. As an integral member of Mike Holmes’ home renovation shows for much of the past decade, the public has come to see Damon as the guy who was always at the ready, the guy who got things done.
However, that’s just television, right? How much faith can we really put in the show hosts and workers that populate channels like HGTV? Aren’t they just posing for the camera?
Well, here’s the inside scoop on Damon Bennett. First, you need to understand that Damon is the real deal: he’s been a builder from his mid-teens right through to today at the age of 42. Second, the more you get to know him, the more you realize how much Damon genuinely wants to help and educate homeowners and improve their lives. The fact that he’s a popular and credible public personality is simply a means to that end.
Given his relaxed manner with the camera running, it’s surprising to learn that the whole television experience was not something Damon ever wanted. Brian Warchol, the TV producer for the Holmes On Homes and Holmes Makes It Right series, remembers. “I heard they had approached someone about being on the show. They described him as a young
Elvis. And he had said, ‘No! I don’t want to be on TV!’ So when I heard that, I said, ‘Get that guy! Get him!’ because those are the kind of people you want. You don’t want people who showboat in front of the camera. You want guys who are real contractors.”
It took some hard persuasion from both the producers and Damon’s own brother to get him to join the Holmes show in 2004. “I was a shy kid. I grew up in a small town (Burritt’s Rapids, near Ottawa) in a family of very hard workers. I grew up loving my trade and just wanted to work. I had no interest in television whatsoever.”
A couple of seasons later Damon was promoted to the show’s crew chief, although again with some reluctance. “I told Mike I didn’t want this. Mike and the producer looked at me and said, ‘Bennett you’re good at it and you’re doing it!’ I owe Mike a lot for that. It taught me the business side, how to deal with people in terms of management, about what I should and shouldn’t do, and about helping people.”
When Damon decided it was time to leave the show at the end of 2013 and focus on running his own business again, he did go through a challenging transition.
“It was a very funny experience leaving a TV show of that magnitude and trying to be a real contractor,” he recalls. “I was getting emails and calls for quotes like crazy because people learned I was no longer with the show. But at the same time, that was a problem: The homeowner would be so happy to meet me and ask if the crew was coming, and how Mike was doing. Basically, they wanted me there as a celebrity. I was getting some tangible jobs, but I realized I had to extract myself from that and start working with a partner, someone who could do estimates for me
and weed out some of the inquiries. As a small business owner, I couldn’t afford anyone at the beginning. It was a really tough transition.”
Damon’s transition to ‘brand ambassador’ for product manufacturers has continued after his Holmes years. He represents CertainTeed sustainable insulation and its MemBrain vapour barrier, the DMX
Airflow/1-Step subfloor system, Snapclip System (ceiling tiles) and Southbrook Cabinetry. This work came with Damon’s own caveats, not the least of which was managing the risk of over-exposure.
“Being a product spokesman was something I was able to witness while watching the other show hosts,” he explains. “I never want to be considered a sellout; I never want people to walk into a home show and see my cut-out in every
Chana Bennett has carved out an important role for herself. "I guess you could say I'm Damon's 'second.' I'm with him all the time, gathering information that needs to be prioritized, managing his social media, following up on leads. We do a lot of brainstorming together."
PHOTO: LARRY ARNAL
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Top: Damon’s partners on the Trenton work include Elite Home Solutions, Burlington, ON. Here he mixes it up with Mike Dillon, co-owner of Elite, before the day’s work begins.
Bottom: Damon is a hands-on project supervisor of the CFB Trenton all-ranks pub project. Here he trims excess scratch coat from faux brick applied to a feature wall.
other booth. It becomes so transparent that you lose your credibility.” So Damon puts limits on himself, despite opportunities to do more. “I really have to like the product before taking it on. I never want more than five at a time or I can’t give them my due diligence. I have to do my research, I have to use the product, and put it in my friends’ hands so they can give me feedback as well,” he explains.
Damon’s continued exposure in the media through product ambassadorship has allowed him to do the things that mean so much to him personally: meeting with people and helping homeowners. “I do a lot of speeches across Canada every year. I can get out a message. And what I’ve come to realize is that there are many homeowners asking for help and needing advice. I’m able to reach out to them without the TV show.”
Reaching out has become Damon’s calling
card, which in turn has led him to his biggest personal mission to date: a major renovation project at CFB Trenton, which itself is borne out of his interest in military history and an appreciation for the dedication of current and veteran Forces members. “I grew up in the Ottawa area, with lots of soldiers in uniforms, lots of war memorials. We were taught in school what the military had done for us. My relatives served in WW2. I saw the photo albums, learned the stories. I felt the pride and always wondered how I could involve myself in some way with those who had served.”
Damon had hired some veterans as crew on the Holmes shows, and soon became involved in helping them and others find new careers after their service. Word of that led to an invitation to speak at a mess dinner at the 8 Wing in Trenton. Instead of the usual 30 minute prepared speech after the meal, Damon offered a brief ‘thank you for what you all do’ – followed by an invitation to join him for a beer so he could meet them all personally. It was a long night at the bar!
From that came a call from 8 Wing Commander Colonel Colin Keiver, asking Damon if he would be interested in helping transform an under-utilized social hall into an all-ranks pub. “You had me at hello, sir,” replied Damon. Nearly a year later, the project is nearing completion. Damon has donated his supervisory skills plus a camera crew to document both the construction itself and the specialized military activities into which he’s been introduced by the men and women on the base. He has enlisted high quality building partners like Elite Home Solutions of Burlington, ON and also partnered with both the media and skilled trades programs at nearby Loyalist College in Belleville.
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After completing the Trenton project in September, Damon will return to his own base: building. He’s currently partnered with Ontario Villas of Toronto, completing a passive house in Etobicoke. Come this fall, he plans to continue to expand the Bennett Building Company. This means an even more complex balancing act of new possibilities, all based on Damon’s overriding principle of being a lifelong builder committed to helping people.
It’s a juggling act, made possible largely by his wife Chana: She’s been managing Damon’s schedule full-time for nearly a year, something Damon can’t praise enough. “My life is pretty chaotic. Being a public figure can get so surreal. I see why certain people on TV can get inflated egos. But I’m still a construction worker at the end of the day and need to have a home base: someone to ground me. Chana is the one who manages my life. I couldn’t do this without her. ”
Yet Damon’s high energy level and genuine enthusiasm for everything and everyone around him makes it all seem doable. “We learn who we are when we’re in the most extreme situations, and I think that’s why I’m still putting all this stuff on my plate. I’m not struggling with any of this. When you’re on the right path, doors open up; and doors are definitely opening up for me.”
Would Damon return to television in the future? The answer is a qualified ‘maybe.’ “I’m pitched shows all the time and am constantly listening to ideas,” Damon says. “But it’s got to be the right thing. It can’t be something fluffy that changes the way people view me as a real contractor. I don’t want to be on TV for its own sake. I want to be on TV to make a difference.” cc
EDITOR"S PICK
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The cladding blends Japanese porcelain tile and factory-coated metal sheeting. “The client was quite adamant that he didn’t want any white stucco,” said architect Thomas Tampold.
The original building was a curiosity of yellow brick from the 40’s or 50’s: the curved front wall redolent of the late 1930s Streamline Moderne era. “It looked like an architect’s home experiment,” Tampold recalled.
Rebuild of a 1930s-style bungalow, Glencairn Avenue, Toronto
Architect Tampold Architects, Inc.
Interior Design Yorkville Design Centre
General Contractor Battiston Construction Co.
Toronto’s fast-rising residential values are making almost as many headlines as Vancouver’s, keeping Canada’s urban real estate market running at a Gold Rush pace. Tear-down and infill projects are active all across the city. Areas such as Lawrence Manor’s Glencairn Avenue north of leafy, prestigious Forest Hill are no exception.
Architect Thomas Tampold was commissioned in 2012 by an empty nest couple to replace an existing bungalow on a 35 x 132-foot lot with something very different. The trick was to maintain a now non-conforming two foot property line setback on the left hand (west) wall, in order to properly maximize the width of the site. Under municipal bylaws, that meant retaining at least two of the four original walls for the project to qualify as a rebuild and not a new build.
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The client’s living space requirements also called for a second floor addition with three bedrooms (two with ensuites) plus a study, raising the main floor for a basement ceiling height of eight feet, and nine foot ceilings for both main and upper floors.
The project clearly called for serious engineering and a contractor up to the challenges. Tampold chose a builder with whom he had total trust and rapport: Luciano Battiston of Battiston Construction. “I need to collaborate with a contractor who likes to be a master builder. I’ve worked with Luciano on a number of projects. He loves to be the solutions guy. I recommended Luciano and the clients agreed because they wanted a cohesive team.” Full project control also allowed Tampold to engage his associated companies, Downsview Kitchens for cabinetry and millwork and Yorkville Design Centre for interior design.
Of course, the client also had his own design concepts for Tampold to consider, for example wanting the kitchen to be shaped like an eye. The result was a unique tear-shaped extension at the rear of the house with a corrugated sheet metal exterior. Being a kosher-kept kitchen, the ‘eye’ was formed by two contrasting curved kitchen island counter tops, one for dairy and the other for meat. The person preparing food in the kitchen forms the pupil.
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Inset: The large mosaic at the side entry was designed by Tampold’s daughter, Evi, when she was 15. She is now a published graphic novelist and artist.
The rear kitchen tear-shaped extension wrapped in corrugated sheet contrasts with the Thermory Ash deck. Thermory Ash is hardened through drying, making it more durable than cedar, and is stained to retain its original rich grains.
It was soon discovered that the existing masonry wall on the east side of the house was not structurally strong enough to support a second floor. It was removed and replaced with an ‘I’ beam-framed structure on top of the existing concrete foundation on that side. The original west masonry wall was simply reinforced for point loads, allowing the steel framework to rest on top. To create the full-width, bulkhead-free interior space for the main floor, a web of deep floor joists were nested in the ‘I’ beam pockets.
All second floor services and their mechanical requirements are on the cantilevered section of the upper floor and run up and down the newly built eastern walls. This, combined with hot water in-floor heating throughout, as well as second floor broadloom, reduces sound transference from one level to another. “Your house is not ringing like a musical instrument all the time,” says Tampold.
The 2,800 square foot home was completed in 2015 after 18 months of construction time. As strikingly individual as this design is, it is in the architect’s words “very contextual” to the neighborhood. “I saw the Glencairn project very much as an artistic expression,” says Tampold. “And I was lucky to have a client who was a patron of the arts, so to speak. Luciano helped to make it a practical reality, a combination of the ‘build’ and the ‘art’.” cc
The upper stairs and the entire second level are carpeted. “I get pretty sick of people going on about wood everything,” says Tampold. “It’s so nice to have carpet on the second floor. It’s nice and soft and warm.”
It was soon discovered that the existing brick wall on the east side of the house was not structurally strong enough to support a second floor. It was replaced with an I-beam framework built on steel posts on top of the existing concrete foundation wall.
By Rob Blackstien
Whether you consider it an art form or a skill, it's clear that some contractors are better at it than others. But regardless of where you are on the scale, everyone can stand to improve their negotiating skills. With this in mind, Canadian Contractor asked some of the top homebuilders and renovators in the country to share their “art of the deal” secrets. We've even thrown in some fascinating cautionary tales and success stories. Think of this as your roadmap to smoother relations with your clients. Let’s start with the most important negotiating tip of all…
Paul Gallop, president of Toronto-based
Men at Work General Contractors Ltd., believes that when it comes to fees, there is no point in negotiating. "We don't really see what we're doing as negotiating when we're dealing with our customers," he says. "It's not about how much we can get from them or how much we have to give up to make a deal. We know what we need to charge for our services, and the margin we need to generate to cover our operating costs and make our target profit, and we try to make it clear that we simply won't charge more or less than this."
Barrett Risser, shareholder/project manager at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia-based D. Risser's Construction Ltd., concurs. “When asked to negotiate on a price you have supplied, never ever negotiate on
your labour rate or the amount of time it takes to complete the project," he says. "If you do, your quality, reputation and stress levels will all suffer."
Similarly, Calgary's David Litwiller, president of Litwiller Renovations and Custom Homes Ltd., says he's not really the negotiating type anymore, so he takes a very pragmatic approach to the game. “Time, price, quality... pick two,” he says. “Remove any of them and I’m already starting to distance myself. Reduce the scope of work and I’m your guy.”
One of the best ways to ensure things go smoothly is to document everything before a negotiation begins with a UFC – an Up
Damackine
Front Contract, says Neil Damackine, president of Terrebonne, QC-based Construction ND. It’s easy to create one during the preliminary telephone conversation. Damackine recommends a UFC that confirms the purpose of a
NEVER, EVER NEGOTIATE ON YOUR LABOUR RATE OR THE AMOUNT OF TIME TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT.
Deciding Not to Proceed (Barkhouse)
TIME, PRICE, QUALITY... IF THE CLIENT REMOVES ANY ONE OF THEM I’M ALREADY STARTING TO DISTANCE MYSELF.
ARE
AND BENEFITS (THE 'WHAT') THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE... FIRST EXPLORE THE NEEDS FACED BY THE CLIENT.
meeting (site visit, presentation, signing, delivery, etc.) and requests or confirms project specific information (reason for the work and, if possible, the scope of it). He confirms the place and expected duration of the meeting; finds out who
"We worked hard with the Cuban embassy to put an addition onto their residence. The community was not in favour of the project so we held a townhall meeting with coffee and treats, reviewed the proposed work, and compromised on a number of points to meet the community concerns. We negotiated with city council for approval which they granted unanimously despite the fact there was a small group of community members who still objected. I then negotiated with the Embassy to not proceed. You see, the small group of community members were right and, to the Embassy's credit, they agreed to not move forward with the project out of respect for the community. We lost a great job, but it sure felt good."
Building Mutual Confidence (Damackine)
"During a meeting with first time clients we began with the typical discussion of reasons leading to the renovation and the difficulties and sacrifices they had lived to prepare for the project. I showed pictures and answered questions about several of our similar projects and I listened a lot to their expectations for the finished project. Together we concluded that the type of work our company produced fit with their vision and the next step was a very candid budget conversation in which we discussed typical projects costs. Throughout the entire meeting a pleasant easygoing rapport had been building and there was a mutual confidence that allowed the clients to feel comfortable divulging their bottom line. From that
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will be present and what their roles are in the family (or company, for commercial projects); and establishes a clear set of decisions to be taken at the end of the meeting (poor fit – no more discussions; referral to another contractor; proceed to develop the scope of work, estimate and contract).
Brian Campbell-Kelly, senior sales and project manager of Laval, QC-based Renovco Inc., says that while price is important, it's not the primary factor – especially on large scale projects and perhaps even less so on small scale projects ($10,000 or less). These projects rely more on speed and availability. "From my perspective this price range is more than likely a one- or two-trade project and allows for both ease of quotation as well as it being easier for a client to accept the price quoted," he says. "The best negotiation practices are always based on what you have to offer and how you promote it."
Mark Twain famously wrote, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” In business, this means tackling your toughest or most unpleasant task of the day as soon as you start work. Steve Barkhouse of Amsted Design Build, Stittsville, ON, translates this concept into the negotiation context: "It is easy to put things off, to the detriment of the negotiations. For example, you have been back and forth with a customer on price. You finally agree and are meeting to sign the contract. They bring up an addition they want to add. It is easy to say that you will have to get back to them with pricing and leave so that you don't have to get in the uncomfortable position of further price negotiations." Barkhouse advises against
Campbell-Kelly
THE BEST NEGOTIATION PRACTICES ARE ALWAYS BASED ON WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER AND HOW YOU PROMOTE IT.
this
“put it off” mentality. He says you need to quickly run some rough numbers then explain the cost impact right away, making sure to underline that your numbers are approximate. Deal with all their questions and concerns right then and there. "Get a decision from them no matter how uncomfortable. Sign the contract and celebrate. You are doing them a favour as well as yourself."
Gallop believes the best negotiating strategies are simply about putting the client at ease. "The tactics we employ to increase the likelihood of closing deals are more around building trust, demonstrating that we operate with integrity, showing
WE ALWAYS START OUR BIDDING AND TIMELINE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CLIENT BY FINDING OUT WHAT THEIR EXPECTATIONS ARE.
a genuine interest in understanding the underlying issues they're trying to resolve in their homes and their lives, offering creative solutions to solving those issues in a way that works within their real target investment amount, and structuring our processes so that at each decision moment the customer doesn't feel threatened or bullied and feels in control but supported by an organized, structured system that makes sense and seems fair."
Figuring out what the client needs will help you figure out what they really want, and that will go a long way towards ensuring smooth negotiations, says Damackine. "Seldom are features and
benefits (the "what") the most important issue during the client-contractor courtship phase. By first exploring impacts and needs (the "why") faced by the client, a wise contractor is better equipped to present solutions that will bring the greatest longterm satisfaction to project owners."
Robert Griesdale, director of North Vancouver, BC-based Blackfish Homes Ltd., says that all negotiations are about managing the expectations of the client. "We always start out our bidding and timeline negotiations with the client by finding out what their expectations are." If they think that the job can be done 25 per cent faster and cheaper than what
GET A DECISION FROM THEM NO MATTER HOW UNCOMFORTABLE.
I JUST FIND THAT A WELLWRITTEN QUOTE OR CONTRACT IS GOING TO REALLY PROTECT THE CLIENT AND YOURSELF
is realistic, that throws up a red flag. "I always say, if you can’t make the customer understand and be comfortable about key issues before the work has started, there is no way you are going to be able to once the work has started."
When negotiations begin, it's a bit of a red flag for Gallop. "Any time we've found ourselves in a situation where we feel like we're 'negotiating' in the conventional sense, it's usually a horror story," he says. "It's generally a sign that there's some sort of competitive atmosphere present... a tug of war, rather than a sense of working together on a cooperative basis to achieve their desires."
point all my energy was focused on getting the homeowners what they wanted instead of playing hit and miss between what they wanted versus what they could afford. Ultimately the client’s confidence in us made all the difference in empowering us to work harder on their behalf during all phases of the project and we were able to bring a higher degree of value to the finished project.”
"During the delivery I thanked them for the confidence shown us early in the preliminary discussions and explained that I always tried to negotiate from the client’s perspective. They told me they’d felt confidence because of my willingness to discuss my own costs and wanted an honest opinion as to if they were financially prepared for the project. The time spent building rapport contributed to their decision to be open and had placed the responsibility on me to be as generous as possible. The clients were surprised and grateful for the value they received and we felt great about giving a bit more back."
"I wanted to do some work for a shipbuilding company in our area," Risser says. "Other contractors had been doing work there and I figured it was a closed deal. I set up a meeting with the person in charge of building maintenance and asked for a chance to work or offer a price on upcoming projects. After much back and forth we were awarded a small contract. Everyone was aware of the importance of this one job (and) we delivered the job on time and budget. One year later we have become their exclusive contractor."
Damackine advises only doing presentations when all the key decision makers are present. "The most complete presentations become confusing when one decision maker debriefs the other using the broken telephone method," he says. "The contractor will always have to start over with a prospect who's possibly biased by confusion."
The Devil is in the Details
Richard Speare, Speare Construction, Barrie, ON, tries to avoid conflict by providing extremely thorough paperwork. He advises including lots of detail in your quotes – what you're doing and what you're not doing to ensure you cover off unforeseen hidden deficiencies and things of that nature. "I just find that a well-written quote or contract is going to really protect the client and yourself," he says. Conversely, poorly written quotes leave you "begging to be taken advantage of, so good details are essential."
Griesdale is adamant that contractors should be in charge when it comes to balancing cost and project size. "A lot of contractors try to fit a budget into the numbers that the client has offered up in order to get the job, but often this number is born out of what they have or can finance, and rarely has any association with the scope they want. Too many contractors let the client with no experience set the cost to the scope and this always ends in disappointment and conflict," he says. "We make sure that the number we offer is reflective of the scope we can do for that cost. If they can’t afford that number, then the scope is revised, not the price." cc
A few of our participating contractors shared with us some negotiating horror stories. Heed them wisely and benefit from their experience.
When he first started in the industry, Speare was building custom homes with his brother and that was going well. Unfortunately, once he ventured into commercial work, he learned a hard lesson about project scope creep. Contracted to build an accessory building to plan, Speare was suddenly blindsided when the client said "forget the plans, it needs to be exactly as the other accessory building is." Now Speare was stuck with a design project on top of the construction work. "At that point, I wish I had the strength, the courage to say 'wait a minute, this is not what we bid on.' " Instead, he made the rookie mistake of being hung out to dry as the scope of the project had completely changed.
Risser shares a project creep story that cost him money and a friendship. They started a major renovation on a 150-year old family farm house, setting a budgeted amount and beginning the project, which ran smoothly. "As we got close to the end, the owners added this and that and since we were so close we just kept saying 'OK we can do it, no problem.' I had personally developed what I thought was a friendship from working on the project from start to finish." When the job wrapped up, they were $20,000 over their original price. "We sat down to discuss what had happened; they were happy with everything minus the overage. Friendship out the window... refusal to pay the extra amount... not enough to seek legal counsel on the matter and I got a $20,000 lesson in how to not do things," Risser says.
Litwiller told us about a customer he had about 15 years ago that was a lawyer. The project price was $350,000 with a very low specification sheet. "The guy wanted a negotiated lump sum management fee. I went for it because I felt it was 'safe' and the timeline should be no problem. Well, the spec suddenly essentially doubled with cabinets, pot filler tap over the stove, Santos mahogany flooring and railings, concrete roof tiles, etc. The timeline doubled and I neglected the paperwork for change orders because I felt they knew it was increasing as they made decisions. The lawyer then sued me for contract cost overages. It wound up in binding arbitration and I wound up at 50 per cent of the negotiated management fee. I refer to this as my $50,000 lesson in contract writing and management."
Barkhouse harkens back to his youth to illustrate where he learned his negotiating skills – the hard way. "I had great teachers. Negotiating with my parents for the car or cash or anything else when I was younger usually resulted in failure because I was ill prepared. My parents were great at asking all sorts of probing questions about my intentions like if I was paying for the gas, when I would be home, where I was going and with whom, what I would do if there was a problem, etc. If I didn't have the right answers, I didn't get what I wanted. This taught me not only to be prepared for the negotiation but also to accept compromise and to make a commitment to finalize the negotiation."
If you're a one-man painting firm, you've probably thought about building a real company. But before you start hiring, read this first...
By Robert Walton
Got a dream to hire painters and expand? There’s good money to be made if you’re the right kind of person, but you need to understand the challenges up front. Learn from what real painters have to say about how they went from solo to boss. We have removed names to protect anonymities.
I’ve hired painters in the past, and they all start out eager and take pride in their work. But as time goes by, the more comfortable they get the more their work suffers. They start showing up late, leaving early or calling in sick. Work gets sloppy. If I have to micro-manage an employee, or I don’t have 100 per cent faith in the quality of their work, I’d prefer to work alone and keep my high standards.
I’m a solo painter, but over the years I’ve hired help. The first was a temp guy. I asked for a non-smoker, and he lit up in the church bathroom during our job. I trained a nephew and niece, and they were the best summer helpers but moved on to careers. Things were getting busy, so I hired a relative part time to help with the office work, and hired a full-time lady as a painter who needed training. That lasted four months.
Be sure you understand yourself
I’ve had 12 guys working for me, I’ve painted solo, and I’ve painted every way in between. For my money, I like the smaller feel. I keep a guy or two around pretty much all year full time.
It’s manageable. Finding the right people is everything. I’ve had one guy for seven years, and another for two years straight.
I did all my own work for a number of years and never had an issue. Not one complaint. So when the work was too much, I decided to hire a friend who was looking for work. Why not share with a friend, right? Well, that’s when the complaints started rolling in!
I hired a guy five years ago and have kept him busy ever since. Last year I had a client recommend a helper who was a recent university grad. I was only going to use him for the summer but have kept him gainfully employed for the last 12 months. When I was solo, I worked less and socialized more with vendors and clients. With two people on board you have a sounding board for ideas. Days go by quicker and you can leave your painter alone to attend to banking, estimates, sick days with kids, etc. You’ve also got another body to clean the shop. But with your second painter hired, you can’t have downtime.
I wouldn’t work alone. Never did, never will. My suggestion is to find someone younger and mold them. There are good people out there. Just avoid the ones into drinking, drugs, showing up late and those who’ve become painters by default. In my opinion you can make a lot more money with a crew working for you. The big hitters have one to five crews. Is it easy finding the right people? No, it’s not. But ultimately if you want to grow you need more hands. Stop hiring know-it-alls!
I’ve seen people who think that the longer your roller sits on the wall the faster you’re painting. I call those people dry rollers. In my opinion, it’s the amount of time that roller is not on the wall –the time between dips – that matters. I’ve worked with guys that I dip three times to their one. I go farther on the wall and put more paint on per square foot, so obviously my work looks better. And be sure to teach your painters to keep that cut pot within easy reach for dips. I worked next to a guy who would cut out of a five gallon pail. One day, when I saw him going up and down a ladder for every dip, I was extremely pissed off. And he wasn’t even my employee.
I’ve had up to 14 painters employed – seven painters and seven guys who thought they were painters. Quality help is difficult to find. I’ve had three ads on Craigslist with no luck. I’ve had a couple of guys filling in with me on the weekends and I now have a part time apprentice who works when she’s not in school. Needless to say I am still searching.
I have one guy that I call when I need real help... not just another pair of hands. He does what he’s there for and he’s a damn good painter!
If you’re going to hire someone – especially if you want to eventually delegate responsibility to them – it becomes your job to teach them the heart of why you make the decisions you do. You
always have to explain everything 100 times to employees before there’s a problem. Explain until you see their eyes glaze over, then explain things a little more – always with humour and fun. And be sure to pay them well when they make you money!
I hope you’re using an app called Joist or something similar for typing up estimates. I usually reserve one day a week for office work, or I work a 6-hour painting day then spend time in the evening on administration.
One extra guy is almost a necessity. Together we often do the job of a three-man crew.”
I was foreman of nine crews of two guys for a boss. I did estimates, scheduling, supervising, client relations, color and design collaboration and payroll. Buying paint, delivering supplies. setting up jobs and cleaning up afterwards. Follow up visits, cold calls, advertising ideas, laying off when times were slow. I never did the hiring, training or bookkeeping. I had to use my own vehicle for all this, too. The final straw was when I found out my boss had spent three days driving around the Maritimes trying to get the best deal on a pickup truck. He brought me into the office and said times were slow (I was working 60 to 80 hours a week), and told me he had to cut my pay from $16/hour to $12.50/hour. I walked out to work on my own and never looked back. BTW, that old boss never did get his truck and went out of business two years later. cc
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Thanksto media exposure of the health risks of mold and mildew, more and more homeowners want contractors who are renovating their basements to use modern products that can help protect against moisture.
This is why specialized building materials like DRIcore’s SMARTWALL and DRIcore’s Subfloor system have become so popular among contractors. Installed correctly, these DRIcore products can be an important part of keeping a basement renovation dry, warm and mold- and mildew-free.
Unfortunately, from time to time the general public will also be exposed to myths about the best types of materials to use in basement renovations.
One of these myths is that “inorganic materials” are somehow better at preventing the growth of mold and mildew in basements than “organic” materials.
One particular version of this myth says that using “inorganic” steel studs and magnesium oxide wallboard in place of traditional “organic” materials like wood studs and gypsum wallboard is a good idea. Mold can’t grow on such materials, right?
Wrong, unfortunately.
In fact, mold can thrive on almost any substance if moisture is present. Just look at the 100 per cent ‘inorganic” surfaces (ceramics, steel, aluminum, glass, etc.) on the interior of any typical household shower enclosure.
Unless moisture is quickly removed from this location (through sufficient bathroom venting), such a space is quickly going to show signs of mold and mildew – even with frequent cleaning. Every homeowner knows this. It is moisture itself, not the substrate it grows on, which is the problem.
Likewise, mold can grow within magnesium oxide walls in a basement renovation if moisture is present. It can grow on steel studs. Mold can grow within any “inorganic” basement wall or floor structure.
Therefore, mold prevention is not simply a question of finding “moldproof” substances to build with. There really aren’t any. The risks of mold can be reduced, rather, by installing an integrated wall and floor system that is designed to minimize or remove the accumulation of moisture in the first place. Just like that well-ventilated shower enclosure.
DRIcore’s SMARTWALL panels, 23.5 inches wide by 96 inches high, do precisely that. They are a proven method to reduce moisture accumulation that can plague traditional stud-frame, fibre insulation and poly vapor barrier construction methods.
SMARTWALL does not rely on “inorganic” materials in its structure (largely consisting of EPS foam factory-bonded to 1/2 inch drywall) –because it is carefully designed to allow water vapour to move freely through its semi-permeable vapour barrier system, where it can dry out.
In a traditionally-built basement wall, water vapour can run down the inside of traditional poly vapour barriers, or accumulate inside fiber insulation. Steel studs and/or “inorganic” wallboard materials won’t solve that moisture-flow issue. SMARTWALL, on the other hand, is designed to deal with that moisture.
On basement floors, DRIcore’s Subfloor product consists of 2-foot by 2-foot tongue-and-grooved engineered tiles. High-density plastic feet on the underside of the tiles create an airspace that allows air to circulate, evaporating moisture.
No “inorganic” flooring material is a magic bullet against mold. The solution to mold is to deal with the underlying moisture issue. DRIcore has become a market-leader in such basement building solutions by fully understanding where mold and mildew come from.
With its industry-leading walkable surface, the portfolio of Tyvek® Protec™ engineered synthetic underlayments provide you and your crew with a high-performance product and greater confidence on the job. It’s an ideal combination of protection and performance for your customer.
By Steve Maxwell
WhenI heard that a friend of mine was having a house built, I asked about his plans and approach. It wasn’t long before he told me about the father-and-son contractor team he chose for the job and the way these guys marketed themselves.
“When we sat down for the first time to decide if these were the men we’d hire,” my friend explained, “the father handed my wife and I a piece of paper with more than a dozen names on it. The contact information for every one of the clients they’ve built houses for over the last 13 years was on that list. “Contact anyone you like”, the father told us. “These are all the people we’ve ever built for. None are missing. They’re all happy to tell you what it was like working with us.”
In a world where the public is scared of contractors, renovators and anyone involved in the trades, intentional and complete transparency is the ultimate marketing tactic. As long as you’re up to the reality of being transparent, that is.
So how can you make transparency part of your marketing plan? Well, first you need to have nothing to hide. Transparency only works if you’re a contractor who does amazing work, treats clients like royalty and chooses to work with the kind of people that it is
possible to please. That’s why step #1 in transparency marketing is one of those simple things that’s not always simple to do: Be great.
While being great is one thing, showing the world you’re great is another. That’s why transparency marketing step #2 is about building up a written and visual record of your projects. Once again, this sounds simple but it’s easy to miss. When that next job is begging to get started and you’re knee-deep in the punch list on your current project, it’s easy to neglect getting that all-important testimonial from the project owner. When you’re busy and on the go, it’s easy to forget taking the 20 or 30 final photos to document how great you are. A decent camera is the cheapest and most effective marketing tool you can own, but you’ve got to use it. Good photos can easily translate into millions of dollars of new sales over the course of your career.
Be consistently great and equip yourself to show the world. Like many things in life, effectively managing these two steps of transparency marketing is simple but not easy. And the fact that it hardly ever happens is precisely why it works so well.
steve@stevemaxwell.ca
By Steve Maxwell
W
hen it comes to new tools, there’s one thing most tradespeople never see. At some point between the time engineers create new designs and the moment real tools appear on store shelves there’s something called “the launch.”Big tool launches involve teams of PR professionals, fancy events, wellrehearsed presentations and hands-on demonstrations to try and impress tool journalists. The idea is to kickstart sales through editorial stories in future months, and while I’m not sure all this fanciness really pays off for tool companies, PR events are part of the power tool culture. This is your chance to see what one of the
biggest tool launches looks like from the inside.
This past June, DEWALT held what they called the “World’s First” event. It happened in Baltimore, Maryland, one of the home cities of the Stanley Black & Decker company that owns DEWALT. There’s a reason why this event was so big. The technology unveiled in Baltimore could be a turning point in the cordless tool world. If nothing else, the DEWALT products behind this launch are a pretty big gamble on the part of the yellow guys – a gamble that was taken once before by another tool maker with less than profitable results.
All major tool events begin with an invitation, air travel and a room in a fancy hotel. For Baltimore, event organizers hosted 90 tool people from across North America (15 of us from Canada) at the Four Seasons Baltimore – a swanky downtown destination right next to the harbour. The opening evening took place on a large balcony overlooking sailboats, power cruisers and fishing craft. Name tags, finger foods, drinks, small talk and nothing whatsoever to do with tools. The next day would be different.
There was almost no leaked information about what the World’s First tool event would involve, but a few days beforehand I did hear something from another tool company about a 60 volt cordless tool line being unveiled in Baltimore. That sounded crazy to me. Who needs 60 volt tools? With nothing much showing up on Google the evening before, I really didn’t know what to expect. The sense of secrecy was played up by DEWALT, but to be honest I was thinking more about the famous Baltimore crab cakes served for dinner than I was about cool new tools.
The morning after the welcome dinner was all business. After we had breakfast in the hotel dining room, black buses with tinted windows showed up at 8 am to take us on the hour-long ride to the secret unveiling venue. It turned out to be a large aircraft hangar, modern but with no signs or markings on the outside. It felt creepy to be filing into a small, unmarked door in the back of the hangar. One guy ahead of me wondered out loud if he should be saying a final goodbye to his wife by cell phone.
After marching down a tunnel of black fabric held up by metal frames, the space opened into a large presentation room with a stage at the front. Countdown numbers were winding towards zero on a big digital screen next to the stage. A lot of people had clearly gone to a lot of trouble.
When the countdown counter hit zero, one of those high energy videos involving lightning bolts, loud music and power tool footage appeared on the big screen. I’ve been to enough of these events that it takes more than fancy footage to impress me, but what happened next got me thinking. Yes, this whole event was focused around 60 volt cordless tools. But maybe the whole 60 volt thing wasn’t quite as crazy as I thought.
Did you ever watch a product launch by Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computer? What happened next reminded me of that. Frank Mannarino, president of DEWALT North America, stepped up on stage and flawlessly explained the vision behind the 60 volt Flextool line. It made sense. He showed us what these tools could do, then invited us to try for ourselves.
FLEXVOLT: This is the name of DEWALT’s 60 volt initiative, and it’s all about moving towards a cordless jobsite. The 60 volt platform delivers 20 volts to tools made to take 20 volts, and either 60 or 120 volts to tools made for this. Yes, 120 volts DC from a battery!
FLEXVOLT cordless tools of note include a cordless 12” sliding compound miter saw that operates on 60 or 120 volts; a 10” portable cordless table saw; a chainsaw (good for demo-reno jobs); a portable 120 volt AC supply; and a cordless light station. FLEXVOLT batteries will fit your existing 20V tools. Cost for a 60V battery is $189 in Canada with three year warranty.
Jobsite Integration: Over and over DEWALT people kept showing us how they were aiming to own the jobsite with more than just tools. Fastener systems, abrasives, cutting blades, storage gear, measuring equipment, electrical and plumbing tools – they want to sell you lots of the things you need to work. Head-to-head testing convinced me that the FLEXTOOL-integrated blades and abrasives really do last longer and work better. Time will tell on the rest.
Cross-Brand Integration: When DEWALT was acquired by Stanley in 2010, you could sense the direction of the company maturing. Baltimore showed how different brands in the same corporate family are coming together so tools, supplies and accessories work better as one.
The power tool business is like war, with superpowers duking it out for technological and financial supremacy. Sometimes the fighting is fierce and sometimes quiet. Over the last 30 years, the balance of power has shifted from one tool company to another, then back again to original superstars. New players appear, old superpower sometimes grow weak, then rally back. In Baltimore DEWALT deployed what’s probably the largest single offensive I’ve ever seen in the tool wars. The Baltimore event was a show designed to impress, but it also introduced legitimate new technology. Will DEWALT’s gamble on the cordless jobsite pay off for them? Ultimately it all depends on whether it pays off for you.
The TV Celebrity
There are always a few TV people at tool unveilings, and if you don’t recognize their face, you can know who they are by their swanky clothes and the way most behave like they’re always on camera, on crack or both. TV celebrities command the most respect at tool events, then disappear completely when their shows are cancelled.
These are usually 20-something kids who are always looking at their smartphones, waiting for the tool events to be over and the bar to open up. In Baltimore I overheard one Bored Young Journalist ask an event organizer if he could leave half way through one of the major presentations. I doubt he’ll have to ask that question again.
These are the aging veterans you see year after year. I know it’s hard for tool companies to impress guys like this because I’m one of them. We’ve seen a lot and it takes a lot for us to get excited.
You’d be surprised how many tool event invitees don’t know anything about tools. During one hands-on demo in Baltimore, one particular Tool-Ignorant Tool Journalist expressed genuine astonishment at the ability of a roofing nailer to bump fire. Another editor took much, much too long figuring out how to use a trim nailer.
Electric fl oor warming system with integrated uncoupling
Floor warming systems have become very popular. Heating tiled floors increases the need for uncoupling to prevent cracked tiles and grout. Use DITRA-HEAT to get both – warm floors and uncoupling – in a single layer.
• No self-levelers required to encapsulate heating cables (no need to wait for curing)
• Place the heating cables exactly where they are needed, without clips or fasteners
• Combines the flexibility of loose cable with the ease of installation of a mat system
• 120 V and 240 V options
Some client complaints are easy to fix at the punch list stage, but noise coming through interior walls and floors is not one of them. That’s why sound resistance needs to be addressed from the earliest stages of a project or not at all. And from what homeowners complain to me about these days, I think Canadians are getting less tolerant of hearing others pee, snore, argue or worse in neighbouring rooms. All this is why you’re seeing more soundresistant batt insulation on the market. It’s an up-and-coming thing and an opportunity for you. CertainTeed’s NoiseReducer insulation is made to fit into standard wood or metal frame partition wall thicknesses, and while it’s rated to boost sound resistance by 4 to 12 STC, NoiseReducer can also boost your standing with clients. Take photos of the installation with bags in view and you’ll have something important to show clients: that sound resistance is something you're used to dealing with. Available at Lowes and Rona stores for about $40 a bag.
Every new or renovated residential or commercial drainwater system is supposed to be pressure tested, but it’s never been a neat or quick job. Until now there have been no valve-equipped fittings for temporarily blocking DWV pipe, adding test water, then letting it drain away without mess. That’s why I took a closer look at the Testrite system when I discovered it (www.holdrite. com/testrite-dwv-testing-landing-page; 800-321-0316). It includes a proprietary clean-out tee that gets permanently installed into the lowest part of PVC, ABS or no-hub drains. Unscrew the locking ring on the Testrite cleanout, remove the clean-out plug, insert a test wedge that’s part of the system, then lock it in place. The test wedge does two things: First, it blocks the passage of water down slope of the Testrite fitting; and second, it allows water to be added up-slope into the drain pipes with a garden hose. Code calls for at least 10 feet of vertical water depth to test a drain system, and using Testrite you can make that happen without climbing on a roof or getting water on the floor. Turn a valve on the test wedge to allow water to drain out when you’re done, then replace the clean-out plug. Given the high cost of labour and claims on your liability insurance, a little diligence ahead of time is probably a good idea. The system is available in 2”, 3”, 4” and 6” sizes. Cost for a 4” ABS cleanout with plug is less than $60 in Canada. A reusable 4” test wedge costs less than $70.
“I know exactly where my business is headed.”
– Dwayne Butler
“Before I started RENOVANTAGE coaching, I worked as hard as I could and hoped that everything would work out OK. Not anymore! Thanks to RENOVANTAGE, I now know three months in advance how many dollars I will produce and my cash flow position. It feels great to be in control of my business!”
• Insufficient profits? • Too many hours? • Not enough time? • Too much pressure? • Not enough sales?
RENOVANTAGE is the leading Canadian training organization for self-employed renovators and homebuilders. We have many coaching options available to suit your budget and availability. Call our Master Contractor Coach Mike Draper, at 416-840-6566, ext 227, for a complimentary discussion about your own business issues and opportunities.
Wes McGruer has run a successful painting business for the past 30 years and is the ‘go-to guy’ for premium coatings in his town. Wes usually has a backlog of work but, like everyone in the trades, he still has to give estimates and visit prospects. Curtis, Wes’s righthand man for a dozen years, manages ongoing projects in Wes’s absence. Curtis is excellent on the brush and completely understands Wes’s passion for high quality work. Assisting Curtis are two younger painters, Phil and Ross. Wes thinks they’re good kids and figures they have potential to take a bigger role in the small firm if they keep developing.
However, Wes has a problem. Curtis is now 41 years old, and his attitude towards both the work and towards Wes is changing. He grumbles about
Wes behind his back, particularly about Wes not being on the job as much as he used to be. Recently, during a slow month, Curtis's hours were cut to almost half. He has started complaining that he should be on salary after 12 years slogging it out for Wes.
Curtis’s grumbling has been intense that young Ross told Wes he didn't want to work in such a negative environment and was considering leaving.
Wes isn’t sure what to do. Although Curtis is still a valuable and trusted employee most of the time, Wes doesn’t need the negativity on site or the personal attacks.
What would you do if you were Curtis?
See the options at right.
1. Wes should fire Curtis and train either Phil or Ross to take over as project manager.
2. Wes should offer Curtis a stand-by fee during quieter periods so he is happier and stays with the company.
3. Tell Curtis to stop complaining to the guys and come to him directly if he’s having problems.
4. Wes should be on the job site more to keep the waters calm amongst the crew, and try to spend less time out giving quotes and seeing prospects.
5. Something else.
HOW TO ENTER
Email your answer to John Bleasby (jbleasby@canadiancontractor.ca) by October 26.
Please give us about a paragraph of explanation. You can propose any other solution you see fit.
If your answer is chosen, you will
In our last contest, general contractor Jeremy McGuire was faced with potentially costly delays completing a new house for clients Doug and Betsy Higgins. The source of most of the problems was Scott, an electrician whose work had failed inspection. Even worse, Scott told Jeremy that he wouldn’t be able to come back and fix the mess for two weeks. Scott had only been hired by Jeremy as a favour to the client. He is Betsy Higgins’ brother!
Many of our readers thought Jeremy should have either refused outright to use Scott in the first place. Or if forced to use Scott, he should have included a contract clause for self-protection. Most respondents agreed that a special meeting with the clients was necessary to discuss the situation, and that they – not the GC –must bear any resultant costs for delays.
Our winning answer came from Mark Bernier of Mapletop Enterprises in Minden, Ontario. Mark included the important suggestion that Jeremy prepare for this meeting by accurately quantifying the many extra costs involved, whether Scott the electrician continued and corrected his work or was replaced by another electrician. Mark also suggested leaving the final decision with the Higgins, pointing out that “this would put the onus of responsibility on the clients.”
Mark wins our prize of a DeWalt Combo Kit consisting of a DeWalt 20V MAX XRR drill (DCD791) and impact driver (DCF887). Congratulations!
a DeWalt FLEXVOLT Circular Saw (Model DCS575T1) with a retail value of $399.
COMPATIBLE
Compatible with all our 20V MAX* tools
WORLD’S FIRST BATTERY PACK THAT AUTOMATICALLY CHANGES VOLTAGE WHEN YOU CHANGE TOOLS.
The FLEXVOLT™ battery's ability to automatically change between two voltages gives users a serious advantage when it comes to efficiency. It's the battery that not only powers, but improves the runtime** of our DEWALT® 20V MAX* tools, so you don't have to invest in a whole new system. It's the battery that brings the power of corded to a new lineup of 60V MAX* and 120V MAX* DEWALT® tools so you can finally work on a fully cordless jobsite. Built Guaranteed Tough®, Built by DEWALT®
EXPANDABLE
Brings power to a whole new lineup of tools
POWERFUL
Combine two 60V MAX* batteries for revolutionary cordless freedom
