Canadian Contractor March 2013

page 10

WSIB protests in Ontario page 18

Contractor U: Pushing past ‘the plateau’ page 24

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Mike Holmes answers his critics

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS

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features

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30

Feast your senses 30 Our Creative Eye camera captures high-end kitchens

Way beyond R20 36 Maxwell looks at high performance wall construction

Getting into gear 42 Sensational new clothing, storage and safety accessories Kids’ bathrooms 46 A special report on a profitable, client-pleasing category

departments

Getting 42

Online 6 Canadian Contractor in your pocket: Mobile news and business tips at canadiancontractor.ca

into

gear Kids’

bathrooms

Editorials 8 Koci on bad clients, Payne on insane ones

46 Voices 10 Mike Holmes interview, Maxwell on our industry’s image problem, Draper on getting your final cheque

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March/April 2013

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS

Way

beyond

R20

36

departments

What did

50

they pay?

Site Notes 18 Ontario’s self-employed contractors protest mandatory WSIB, Tax break for contractors in B.C., High-tech wall art, PEX overtaking copper pipe Contractor U 24 How a renovation firm is pushing past ‘The Plateau Effect’

What did they pay? 50 Guess the cheque the contractor received for this four-skylight canopy

18

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ONLINE @

@

Head to the Web for more exclusive stories and videos…

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Join the conversation 10,000 contractors are having online SALARY SURVEY Fill it out and you could win an iPad!

Canadian Contractor’s annual salary survey takes only a few minutes to complete, online. It will give everyone in the industry some great information on how you stack up, paycheque-wise.

VIDEO Mike Holmes responds “The world’s most trusted contractor” got blasted by many readers of Canadian Contractor for his declaration that only 20 per cent of you are good at your jobs. In this video, he explains his point of view.

VIDEO WSIB protests in Ontario The Ontario government has passed a law that extends mandatory WSIB to almost everyone in the business. All part of a plan, no doubt, to decrease the agency’s $14.2-billion deficit. Renovators took to the streets in Hamilton and Ottawa.

CONTRACTOR U Getting that last cheque

CANADIAN

You work damn hard to get to about 95 per cent completion on a job, and then you can’t quite get those niggling last touches completed. Which costs you your last cheque.

Mike Draper talks about how common this is, and how to avoid it.

CONTRACTOR.ca BUILD | GROW | PROFIT

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EDITORIALS

Voices

AVOIDING CLIENTS FROM HELL

By Rob Koci

Everyone in every trade meets up with potential Clients from Hell. But you can sniff them out before they become actual clients if you have these ingredients: Courage. Especially if you are really hungry for work, you will need a lot of courage to realize that some prospective clients, unfortunately, are accidents waiting to happen and that you need to walk away from them.

Comfort. You need to know that letting go of the revenue from a Client from Hell won’t put you out on the street or keep your kids from a healthy lunch. The sooner you get into a position of comfort, the more likely you are to reject a horrible lead.

Confidence. Do you believe in your product? Your guys?

Your ability to run a company and a job site? Then why know will erode the quality and quantity of the work you

Letting go of a Client from Hell won’t put you out on the street.

“

“

would you allow yourself to sign with someone who you

Rob Koci

Associate Publisher rkoci@canadiancontractor.ca

already have?

Clarity. I have a contractor friend whose entire career has been a litany of Clients from Hell. Eventually, I realized he was attracting them. There was something about his approach and his attitude about himself that made him a magnet for nightmare clients. If this sounds familiar, look inside and get some clarity on yourself. Often, there is a co-dependent dynamic going on, similar to that between an addict and their enabler.

Cohesion. Every day, your focus has to be on integrity.

You want to wake up with it, and go to bed with it. A lot of things can be in flux. You can have problems and challenges, but if you work as hard as you can with integrity, you’ll never find yourself accepting the tempting advances of the Clients from Hell.

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EDITORIALS

Voices

...BUT YOU CAN’T AVOID ALL OF THEM

By Steve Payne

I fervently wish that Rob was right that courage and confidence, etc., could protect the self-employed contractor from all Clients from Hell.

Rob’s not naive: he slogged it out as a renovator for 20 years. I just think he’s forgetting that some clients are actually mentally ill. And these people are charming, engaging and even fun to quote your services to.

They’re your instant best friend and they’ve got the dough.

It’s all good, right?

Except, they’re sociopaths. One percent of the population. They’re charming as hell. (Another term for sociopathy is antisocial personality disorder.)

What are the hallmarks of this pathological state of mind?

Start with glibness and superficial charm. I know, that potential client asks how old your kids are, they should be treated like Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.

But with sociopaths, lying is a constant. They don’t feel that inner stress when telling an untruth. They have a complete lack of remorse, shame or guilt. They utterly lack empathy.

Sociopaths are frequently grandiose in their expression and their homes can be, too. Many sociopaths rise very

“

One per cent of the population are sociopaths.

Charming as hell.

high up the ranks of major corporations and government.

While only one-in-100 people in the general population

“

doesn’t narrow it down very much. It doesn’t mean that if a

are thought to be sociopathic, that number jumps to an estimated one-in-25 among CEOs, a number widely reported in the media at the height of the economic crash.

Steve Payne Editor

So while Rob is right that you should walk away from prospective clients who give you a bad feeling, remember

spayne@canadiancontractor.ca

that the clients who can kill you are the ones that don’t. www.canadiancontractor.ca

March/April 2013

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VOICES

Mike Holmes answers his critics

When Mike Holmes was quoted in Readers Digest saying that only 20 per cent of contractors were any good (he said 70 per cent of contractors were ‘bad’ and 10 per cent of them were ‘ugly’), we asked our readers to respond. Last issue, we published a selection of letters and website posts about Mike: many were highly critical of him. To his credit, Mike agreed to sit down for a video interview with our associate publisher Rob Koci (view the various segments at canadiancontractor.ca). And he also responded in writing to four specific questions we posed him.

Here they are...

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A lot of Canadian Contractor readers feel that you operate without a budget – or even a timeline – when you “rescue” homeowners who have allegedly been hosed by unscrupulous contractors. So, you have a real advantage over the originally-hired contractor who is now the villain.

How do you respond to that?

Q.

Actually, television has a budget and a tight timeline and mixing construction and television makes jobs even more complicated. It’s not really an “advantage.” Believe me, I understand that some homeowners are responsible for their bad renovations – they want champagne on a beer budget . None of the homeowners I work with on the show are “allegedly” hosed. They are truly screwed. Yes, thanks to the donations from subtrades and suppliers, a lot of product that goes into our rescues is higher end, which I see can give some viewers unreasonable expectations when they come to do their own renovation. That’s why in the new series Holmes Makes it Right we break out the actual costs of a job. That way people, if they are paying attention, will have a reality check.

A.

VOICES

Voices

An interview with Mike Holmes continued

Q.

Unscrupulous and/or unprofessional contractors get most of the blame on your various shows, a lot of our readers have said, whereas the homeowners don’t ever seem to get their share of the blame for hiring these clowns in the first place.

Television shows are made to a format: one that’s agreed to with the network before the show gets produced. Villains and victims are the kind of thing that works on television – but don’t think for a second that these bad contractors or bad inspectors don’t deserve blame. They take advantage of homeowners: either by being crooks, or by just doing bad quality work. To my mind, if a homeowner has an idea that a job can be done fast and cheap, no self-respecting good contractor will take the job. They’ll walk away – and they should – because the job just can’t be done properly on a tight timeline or a too-small budget. It’s true that homeowners need to take responsibility for their jobs, good or bad. They need to be educated about what’s possible and what is not. If they don’t do their due diligence and end up hiring the clowns, then they will end up in trouble. It takes two to tango.

A.

Q.

Competition from cash contractors is very frustrating to contractors who want to remain above board, paying taxes, workers comp, licenses, permits, etc. What advice do you have for contractors competing with the cash economy?

It’s tough to be a contractor – or any kind of legitimate tradesperson. There are all the skills you need to have to do your job – carpentry or plumbing or electrical – and then there’s the business stuff that keeps piling up. Of all the guys I know in the trades, almost none of them are “business”guys. They don’t have those skills. And, they need to have a certain level of success before they can hire someone to run that end of it. It’s really hard and a lot of guys end up in trouble with paperwork and taxes. I did. There’s always the temptation to take cash jobs because you can get in under the radar. I get that.

I don’t know an easy answer here. A lot of good, skilled, talented tradespeople do cash jobs.

Unfortunately, so do a lot of bad guys and fly-by-night operators. In fact, that’s where most of the bad guys operate. And homeowners can’t tell the difference.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to educate homeowners that you get what you pay for. That they need to hire the guys who are legitimate, who run proper businesses and who have licenses and insurance. At least that way they have some assurance that the guy is legitimate – because the guys who invest in their business care. They aren’t going anywhere and running away.

I think the only thing I can say to the good guys is to keep their integrity. They will lose some jobs to the cheap cash guys, but in the end their reputation for being a stand up business guy, who is legit, and who does quality work will keep them busy through referrals and repeat business. cc

A.

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VOICES

“

And while there’s no inherent reason why the level of professionalism in the trades should be any lower than anywhere else in society, it’s hard to argue that it’s not.

“

Steve Maxwell

The real reason we can’t get enough kids into the trades It’s not about the money. Successful, professional contractors can make more money than family doctors. No, it’s a bigger problem. The image of our industry stinks – and it’s our own fault.

Back in September, I wrote a Toronto Star column about how logical reasoning was never going to end the growing shortage of skilled trade workers in Canada. We’ve been hearing logical warnings about the lack of tradespeople in this country for at least 35 years, and the situation has only gotten worse.

Not even good wages and benefits have turned the tide on this – and they won’t. That’s because the issue ultimately has nothing to do with facts and figures, and everything to do with emotions and appearances. www.canadiancontractor.ca

March/April 2013

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VOICES

Voices

Replace the word “trades” in this rant with “medicine,” “science,” “law” or even “politics.”

Would anyone take the details of this rant seriously when it refers to these other areas of work? Probably not, and that leads me to wonder about something.

I remember one job of mine where I politely questioned the drywaller on why he was charging me more than the contracted amount. It was almost worth the extra $500 he was asking just to see a balding, 35-year-old man jump up and down, whirl around in a rage and stomp his feet like my four-year old. When was the last time your dentist showed such immaturity?

There are crooks, quacks and slobs in every part of society, but that doesn’t mean all sectors share the same level of decency. Far from it. And while there’s no inherent reason why the level of professionalism in the trades should be any lower than anywhere else in society, it’s hard to argue that it’s not. It’s not universally lower, mind you, but it’s lower often enough to influence One parent’s rant . . . the reputation of the sector as a whole. It Do you want to know WHY parents don’t guide their kids seems to me that there’s a big public relations towards the trades? It has everything to do with the kind of challenge here, and this is where the good people who work in them. Many of these people are PIGS! guys need to come in.

They drive their work vans like idiots, throw their cigs out the The fact that you’re even reading this probably means you’re not part of the window, dump coffee cups on your lawn, piss in your yard, problem; but that’s not enough. What let the wind blow garbage all over the neighbourhood, drink the contracting industry needs is more beer at lunch. . . then continue to work on your house. THAT’s practitioners who are an active part of the why we want our kids to do something else. When the trades solution. We need true professionals who begin to set a better example of behavior, then maybe these stand out in appearance, in conduct, in skills and in morals in a way that make jobs will look more attractive. Bo Jackson used to say, ‘Stay in rants like the one I got from that parent school, fool.’ He was right. ridiculous. Sounds like too much to ask?

Maybe, but I’d argue that in a business to go into the trades: where professionalism isn’t always what it should Wow, harsh words! Forget outrage for a minute be, consistent professionalism is good sense. and ask yourself one question: Are these words true My parents-in-law live 600 km away and enough to matter? And more importantly, is this they hired a contractor to finish the basement in view point more true for the trades than it is for any their new place. They chose a guy who’s been other sector of our economy? Apply the substitution in business for decades, he’s done hundreds of test to find out. thousands of dollars of work for members of the

“

The reality of trade shortages begins with the fact that the best and brightest young people rarely choose the trades these days. When was the last time you heard of a young person who was accepted into medical school, yet turned down the opportunity in favour of becoming a contractor, pipefitter or painter? Yet, why shouldn’t they? After all, tradespeople who grow their work into highlysuccessful businesses can earn more than a GP. Unfortunately, more often than not, trade work is a fall-back option for people who can’t make it in the academic stream, and that’s not anything that logical arguments or money is going to change.

What we really need is an image make-over of the whole trades sector. As an example, just look at this harsh parental rant that I got by e-mail in response to my newspaper column about encouraging kids

”

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VOICES

“

What would it mean to your business if the trade labour pool included a wide range of the kind of young people getting funneled off into business, science or law? I don’t know if I’ll ever see the day when the best, brightest and most honest young regularly choose to pour themselves into a life of building, but it sure would be nice. Perhaps it will happen, but probably not until the quality-minded members of the contracting world step up to the plate and raise the PR bar conspicuously higher by delivering polite, intelligent, articulate, trustworthy and skilled service as a normal part of every day business. Am I dreaming?

Steve Maxwell is Canadian Contractor’s tools editor, a freelance writer for the renovation industry and “Canada’s Handiest Man.” He lives in Evansville on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. www.stevemaxwell.ca

Communication often breaks down right at the end of a job.

Mike Draper

“

Voices

extended family, so he seemed like a no-brainer.

They had their guard down, and distance prevented me from learning that his estimate for finishing an 800 square foot basement was an outrageous $44K. I wish I’d found out sooner that he installed used plumbing items and the cheapest possible bathroom fixtures when better stuff had been specified in the contract. I wish I’d heard about all this before full payment was made and this guy stopped answering phone calls. Yes, raising a stink might have made things better, but should raising a stink really be a necessary and normal part of getting a fair deal in the contracting business? Surely decent contractors can profitably leverage a wholesome reputation to their advantage, especially when stories about senior citizens getting shafted on basement reno jobs aren’t all that rare.

Getting that last cheque: You’ve got to push through At a neighbourhood party recently, I chatted up a couple of people who had just completed renovations to their homes. Each of them had similar experiences but had used different contractors. Both said the work was 16

March/April 2013

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great, but in each case the relationship ended on a sour note.

Throughout the project both commented on how happy they were with the work that the contractor was doing and how the contractor was keeping them in the loop. They would pay the contractor

VOICES

the contractor to generate referrals.

So how do you solve this? From my standpoint, unless there are heavy warning signs, the contractor should work hard to finish the project in a timely manner. Like fine millwork, the satisfaction is in the quality of the final finish. Don’t throw away all that hard work and the opportunity for referrals by not following through on the finish. There is far less risk on the final payment when the work is completed as promised. Stay in constant communication with the homeowner about what is left to complete the project, when you will be completed, and how much you are expecting on completion. It will get you paid faster.

Voices

on a regular basis and the work continued along as expected.

Near the end of the project, however, problems started to come up. Ninety-five per cent of the work was completed but now both homeowners had to push really hard to get their contractors to finish the work. Why was this happening to two different people with two different contractors?

After much discussion, we realized that the communication between the homeowner and the contractor was starting to break down because the level of trust was beginning to break down. The homeowners didn’t trust that if they made the final payment, the last small details would get done.

The contractor didn’t trust, in turn, that the homeowner would make the final payment.

Wow, I thought. All that relationship building that had gone on during the project was now being thrown out the window. So was the opportunity for

Mike Draper is a contractor coach with Renovantage (www.renovantage.com) and a frequent contributor to Canadian Contractor.

Read him also on page 24, Contractor U.

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March/April 2013

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SITE NOTES

By Steve Payne

Independent contractors protest Ontario’s WSIB ‘tax grab’

Renovation contractors and their subtrades turned out in large numbers for mass protests in front of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Offices in Ottawa and Hamilton, ON, on Feb. 12 to protest the Ontario government’s new WSIB fee structure. As a result of the province’s controversial Bill 119, which went into effect Jan. 1, independent small business operators must now purchase WSIB insurance at rates that could drive them out of business.

Justin Dokter, a 24-year-old self-employed carpenter from the Hamilton area who was one of the main organizers of the protests, told Canadian Contractor that he would have to foist these mandatory new charges on his customers, since paying them himself is not an option. And that, he said, could put him out of work, especially given the cash competitors he has to bid against.

Before Ontario introduced Bill 119, independent contractors still had to be insured, but they could, as Dokter did, choose their own insurer. The mandatory new WSIB premiums range from one to 18 per cent of a worker’s insurable earnings. In his own case, “it’s seven to 15 per cent of our gross income,” Dokter said.

“This (WSIB) costs six to seven times more than my private insurance and it’s an inferior product,”

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March/April, 2013

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Dokter added. “And it only covers me if I get hurt on the job.” He said his private insurance covers him no matter where an injury or illness occurs.”

Henry de Vries, a local painter who attended the Hamilton protest, said it was the first time he had ever carried a picket sign in his life. He said he would rather have been working but felt he had no choice to but to join the protest because, with the new WSIB rules and fees, his livelihood is now seriously threatened.

“The biggest problem is the rates they’re charging that contractors have to pay,” de Vries said. He said he’d heard of contractors paying “from six per cent to 30 per cent.”

“It’s gotten to the point between that and income tax that it is hardly worth going out to work anymore. I hope the government takes a look at WSIB, does an audit on them, like the WSIB did on us last year. (They need) to take a look at how they take care of their funds,” he explained.

It’s well known that the WSIB has not, at all, taken care of its funds. At the end of 2011, the muchcriticized agency had an “unfunded liability” (obligations it already has to pay out premiums to claimants) of a staggering $14.2-billion. Some analysts estimate that amount has now risen to $18-billion.

Roger Tickner, a safety professional in the industry, says it’s clear to him that the Ontario government sees independent contractors as a new source of revenue to deal with that money pit. “It’s been created by people that really don’t understand the business as well as they should,” he said.

Husband-and-wife contracting team Martin and Corinne Templeman, MET Services, attended the Hamilton rally and told Canadian Contractor that the new fees were potentially crippling to their business.

“My clients are going to be paying five per cent more for my services. And I’ve got to compete

SITE NOTES

against the black market who pay cash,” Martin said. “We need to create awareness that the government is asking small contractors, small business people, to pay for a deficit that they had no part of creating,” Corinne said.

Conservative MPP Randy Hillier is one of the more vocal opponents of the WSIB in the legislature. Since Bill 119 was first introduced in 2009, he has introduced several bills to create exemptions for small business owners. They were all defeated. The lobby against the new WSIB rules has a website at www.fixthewsib.ca.

B.C. boots HST, returns to just GST on home renos

By David Godkin The CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association is hoping for a boost in residential construction now that the provincial government has set April 1 for a return to the provincial sales tax from the HST that was unexpectedly introduced in 2010. In the 16 months since a province-wide referendum overturned implementation of the HST renovators have seen a dip in construction activity which they blame on continued uncertainty around the tax.

Bob de Wit says new taxation rules will now be a little clearer prior to and after the return to the PST. “They have clarified the rules around application of the HST to new sales during the transition period and they’ve also been clear about the application of PST on labour. But they still have not released the full regulations relating to implementation of the PST which obviously we would like to see.”

The good news is that as of April 1 home buyers will no longer pay seven per cent on new home purchases, while renovation contractors will only charge five per cent GST instead of the 12 per cent

HST for their services (e.g., carpentry, plumbing, electrical wiring). The same will apply to thermal insulation, weather stripping and caulking products. The only tax change for paint, lumber, concrete mix and nails is what the tax will be called: contractors and their clients will still pay five per cent GST and seven per cent PST on those products, which is equal to the previous 12 per cent HST. Nonetheless, Jeff Bain Jeff Bain, president of Vancouverbased JKB Construction, says a return to the original PST from the HST will encourage more home owners to commit to renovations which they had been putting off.

“Absolutely. That’s what the whole referendum was about. The HST was a sneaky tax the way it came in and it was a lot more tax you were paying on every dollar you spent. Everything’s going to help,” said Bain.

What will not help, says Rob Currie, co-owner of Basement Systems Vancouver, is the provincial government’s continued refusal to implement a renovation tax credit.

He believes it’s now up to the federal Rob Currie government to return a portion of the tax paid for renovation services and products to homeowners in every province. “That should be done at all times to give the average hard working person who wants to do a bit of renovation the opportunity to get a little money back.” To its credit, BC’s government does provide seniors with a 10 per cent home renovation tax credit, with no lifetime maximum. But, Currie wants everyone to receive renovation tax credits, along with prorated thresholds based on the amount homeowners spend.

Meantime, B.C. contractors have complained about a lack of information about the transition from

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SITE NOTES

the HST to the PST. In response, the province has rolled out a comprehensive information campaign that includes in-person and on-line seminars covering the general principles of the PST, one-on-one consultations with tax specialists, and web-based videos. Information is also available by calling 1-877-388-4440 or by visiting http://www.pstinbc.ca.

A new way to apply images to walls: Tattoowall

spectacular application of Tattoowall in Italy, at the University of Turin. Leading Italian light artist Richi Ferrero collaborated with the Tattoowall people to create an electrically-powered, luminescent image based on a drawing by Burne Hogarth, a famous American illustrator from the 50s.

The area covered by the Tattoowall, on a new building at the campus, was a very large one: 1,092 sq.ft. Yet it took only two people to install the image on the smooth concrete substrate.

The drawing that was turned into this Tattoowall was executed by Giulio Saccardo, a student from the Academy of Arts of Turin, to underline the educational aspects of Hogarth’s work, and of the campus itself. Now, this Tattoowall installation has become the centerpiece of the campus.

For more information on Tattoowall visit www.mada-arts.com.

PEX pipe might soon be more commonly installed than copper

If you are a professional painter or interior design contractor who is looking to create some spectacular artwork on the walls of a client’s home, without them having to take out a new mortgage to create an original work of art, you might want to find out about Tattoowall.

The Tattoowall is a digital imaging technique, consisting of a special membrane that can be applied directly onto any substrate, rough or smooth, with no size limitation, no mess, no heat, and no distortion of image. Once it is applied it becomes a fresco – fast and with no joint lines. It is guaranteed for interior and exterior applications.

Agnes von Mehren, who heads up Tattoowall in Canada, sent Canadian Contractor this photo of a

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If you’re a plumber who is still installing copper piping rather than PEX, you might soon be in the minority. First introduced in Canada more than 25 years ago, PEX piping has since that time increased to about 40 per cent market share, with copper still in the lead.

But now, thanks to improvements in the connection methods, the PEX market is growing at 25 per cent a year.

“Within three years we will see the tipping point”

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SITE NOTES

at which PEX is more commonly installed than copper, nationwide, said Charlie Harte, general manager of Uponor Canada, a leading manufacturer of premium quality PexA piping.

In its earliest years, plumbers were slow to switch over to PEX, perhaps because they associated it with more difficult to use plastic pipe, such as CPVC, which requires glue. But the highest-grade types of PEX (crosslinked polyethylene), with their patented ProPex connector system (in the case of Uponor) are now widely trusted by plumbers. For example, Uponor PEX comes with a 25-year guarantee against failure when it has been used properly by a qualified installer.

Harte said his company’s products, with its patented connectors, can be installed 30 to 40 per cent faster than copper. Ease of handling (a 300-foot roll of PEX can be carried easily over a contractor’s shoulder) and low material costs are additional benefits.

Ontario College of Trades delayed yet again as ‘Stop the Trades Tax’ movement gathers speed The Ontario College of Trades, the controversial new regulatory body created by Ontario’s Liberal government, was supposed to have been up and running months ago. Now, it’s clear the College is not going to be operating until at least April as it deals with a host of issues. These include stiff opposition from some labour leaders who have now joined the Ontario Construction Employers Coalition in calling for the College to be shut down before it officially launches.

The College was conceived as a largely regulatory body with an additional mandate to promote the skilled trades to Ontario’s young people. But the College will teach no courses and train no workers.

It is, however, planning to mail $120 invoices ($60 for apprentices) to 157 “compulsory” categories of tradespeople in the province including, in the resi-

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dential construction sector, electricians, plumbers, sheet metal works and air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics. If they don’t pay the tab, they could see their Certificates of Qualification withheld. They would become illegal workers.

At the end of December, John Mandarino, the director of the Labourers International Union of North America (LIUNA) wrote a letter to the College saying that, although his union had originally supported the idea of the College, it now felt that all that was being created was “an added layer of bureaucracy that no longer accurately represents the skilled trades in Ontario, as it was supposed to do.”

There are approximately 700,000 skilled trades workers in Ontario. Were they to join the Ontario College of Trades, if it survives, the College would be the largest of the province’s 45 regulatory colleges.

The published position of the Ontario Construction Employers Coalition is that the College is “a huge tax grab with no clear benefit and no accountability.

Tradespeople already pay for licenses and countless other fees to government. Now the Liberal government wants them to pay another tax to fund another government bureaucracy no one wants or needs.”

In a statement, Sean Reid, chair of the Coalition’s Stop the Trades Tax campaign, invited Ontario’s new premier-designate, Kathleen Wynne, to change her government’s direction on the College. “With a new Liberal leader and premier comes the opportunity to reverse bad policy and work together to build Ontario’s economy. Supporting tradespeople and employers by stopping the Trades Tax is an important first step,” he said.

The Coalition, which says it represents more than 30 organizations whose members represent more than 130,000 skilled tradespersons in Ontario, has added additional members since LIUNA publicized its opposition to the College. Recent new members of the Coalition include the Niagara Construction Association and the Canadian Association of Renovators and Home Services (CARAHS).

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CONTRACTOR U

The road to $3-million in sales

Getting over

the plateau Just over three years ago, renovation business partners Andrew Black and David Steckel realized it just wasn’t working for them anymore. For the third year in a row, they’d done sales in the $1.6-million range. They were experiencing the well-known plateau that any small business will run into if the owner(s) do much of the work themselves because they lack, as Black General Contracting did, the real tools of business: staff, systems and support.

Here’s how they have revamped their business as they move past that frustrating plateau.

David Steckel (left) and Andrew Black, Black General Contracting, Toronto

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By Mike Draper Photo: Larry Arnal Photography

CONTRACTOR U

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hen most contractors start out on their where Andrew would focus on accounting and own to build a renovation company, project managing and David would spend time on they have visions of building a big project management, sales and estimating. business that can provide them with all the money Suffice it to say, this was not the most efficient they could need, day to day, and, in time, long-term way to run their business. But what did they know financial security. Sadly, what typically happens about running a business, anyway? Andrew went is that their life becomes an endless round of long to school for marketing and David was an English days of grueling work which never seem to proliterature student at the University of Toronto; neiduce enough cash. And their long-term security ther of their degrees were conducive to the proper can seem like a joke. How could the dream be so management of a business. Most small business much different than the reality that the contractor owners have a similar story. Most were working for finds himself in? Where did he go wrong and what someone else and then decided to branch out on should he have done differently? their own, only to find that business Sound a little familiar? ownership is not about the technical “The real tools Well, let me tell you a true story aspects of the tasks that they were of two young contractors in the trained to do when they worked for of businesses Toronto area who have taken steps someone else – it is about sales, are the to move away from that frustrating marketing, finance, human resourckind of life. They’re doing it early in es, customer service and operations. same from their careers (both are in their 30’s) And, as we all know, when you construction to but the lessons apply to anyone are a small business owner with running a renovation construction very few resources and not much Hollywood: they business, at any age, anywhere in of a track record, the banks look at the country. you as a liability. Andrew and David consist of staff, At the end of 2009, Black General had to sit and listen to the small systems and Contracting had experienced the business account manager at their third straight year of sales in the bank tell them that “it will only be support.” $1,600,000 dollar range. Andrew easy for you to get money from us – David Steckel Black and David Steckel, the two when you no longer need it.” Ah, the partners/owners, were frustrated joys of entrepreneurship. with their lack of growth and the impossibility What Black General Contracting needed, (or so it seemed to them) of cracking $2,000,000 in although they did not know it at the time, was revenues. What was even worse, on top of their some outside help to get them over the plateau that inability to reach their revenue goals, Andrew there were at. All contractors will hit a plateau at and David were also not making their profit goals. some point because the reality is that no one The hours were crazy, the work was hard and they knows everything there is to know about building were tired of it. They were wasting valuable time a renovation company. on site managing their subs as well as babysitting Here’s what happened for Black General their one employee. Once the day’s endless microContracting, in David’s words, as he and managing of all of the jobsite activity was comAndrew began to change the nature of their plete, they would go to their office for the evening company’s operations.

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David Steckel recalls One morning, back in 2010, our phone rang and it was a cold call from some company promising lead generation and advertising, all of which we had heard many times before.

My gut feeling was to say “No thanks” and immediately hang-up, but for some reason that day I decided to listen to the rest of what the cold caller had to say. They had something different to offer.

We were finding that clients never chose their finishes on time and I was constantly being dragged from one tile store to another free of charge. This particular caller said that the company he represented, Renovantage, had a design centre where we could take our clients.

We occasionally had the pleasure of working with a professional designer on a few jobs but the smaller jobs rarely had the budget for one, so the concept of a onestop shop for design and finishes sold me. On top of the décor studio, the company offered a certification process, business coaching, lead generation, and a general desire to raise the bar of what it means to be a general contractor.

The lack of oversight, accreditation, quality control, and general absence of a level playing field for our multi-billion dollar industry in Ontario is a topic for a different day, but at least with Renovantage a customer knows that there is an exhaustive and professionally-conducted, full company vetting by third parties before a contractor’s application to join that organization is accepted.

“

Andrew had some reservations about another addition to our monthly overhead, but we made an agreement with each other to stay on with Renovantage for at least six months. By the end of that time, Andrew and I had made a number of important changes to the way we operated: we had regularly scheduled office days, we had hired our first true foreman for $34.50 an hour, and we knew what the term “cash flow” truly meant!

Fast forward to 2013: Andrew and I are still ultimately project managers, but we have two fulltime site supers, two full-time foremen, a weekly bookkeeper, an admin person three days a week, and a monthly payroll of $50,000.

Andrew and I rarely wear our Carhartts and Steelees any longer; they were traded in for button downs and slacks. We spend the vast majority of our time at the office estimating, seeking new business, forecasting and trying to create a business out of our construction company!

Our monthly meetings with Mike Draper and the rest of the Renovantage team have been absolutely essential to our growth and, most especially, our ability to pay the bills.

At one point in late 2011, Mike asked us straight out why we thought it was okay that one of our residential clients owed us over $100,000. We made excuses like: “We haven’t been invoicing on time” or “He has to move his money around” or “The homeowner needed an extension.” Mike asked us why this particular homeowner didn’t have the money available for the renovation before we started and why we were acting as a bank for him. “These things just happen, Mike”, we said. But Mike was right. He told us to approach the homeowner with an immediate lien as a safety

He asked us straight out why one of our clients owed us over $100,000.

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CONTRACTOR U

precaution and set us up with a construction financing company for the client. Once this process was initiated, the cheques started coming in and Black General Contracting narrowly avoided the cash flow disaster that Mike was warning us about.

Mike hammered the concept of cash flow at us for months and now Andrew and I look at the cash flow a few times a month. Our clients are invoiced on a frequent schedule and they are no longer hit with massive invoices reflecting a month or more of work.

Job forecasting was also an essential skill necessary to get our revenue stream to where we want it. If we need to pull in $200,000 next month and we only have approximately $150,000 worth of billings, then we need to pick up a few bathrooms or hit the pavement to find that $50,000.

Our next goal is $3,000,000 and though we want to see that number in 2013 we think $2,800,000 the more likely scenario, with $3,000,000 coming in 2014. What is truly unbelievable is that I can now make a statement like that and it is not just hot air. We have the staff in place, the relationships, most of the systems and the support that we need. Mike, Andrew, and I have spent the last 18 months creating a company that can handle $3,000,000 in sales. Eighteen months of huge growth and capital expenditures hurt, but we are now set up for success. Systemization, efficiency, forecasting, accountability, office days, no more deliveries, these are the tools Andrew and I are using to grow our business.

You will notice in this piece that I have not mentioned the more traditional tools of construction: dump trailers, compressors, subfloor nailers. Those are tools, yes, but they are not the real tools of business that make money for you and keep your business healthy.

The real tools of all businesses are the same, from retail to banking, from construction to Hollywood: they consist of staff, systems and support.

The “ah ha” moment for Black General Contracting was the day Mike said to us at the end of one of our regularly-scheduled coaching calls: “Did either of you

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guys notice that neither one of you mentioned a single jobsite problem or construction-related item in the last two hours?” Andrew and I are extremely excited to see what happens in 2013 with the construction company that we have built.

Afterword: Mike Draper David Steckel’s story, above, is a great example of how anyone can take their company from one level to the next. Every business will plateau at some point.

The key is, what you do when you hit that plateau?

You can keep doing what you are doing and expect a different result. Or, you can make key changes to your business so that it can make the transition to the next level.

While this is true, it’s also true that change is very hard for many contractors, for two reasons. First, there is denial: some people feel that running their business by the seat of their pants has “worked” so far – so why change? Second, even when the need for change is finally acknowledged, there is confusion as to what specific changes to make. That is why it’s important to look for outside help and to get a different perspective on your business. Because trying to figure it all out yourself by trial and error, in business, can be very expensive. It also takes time which you can never get back. cc Mike Draper is a business coach for Renovantage (www.renovantage.com) and a frequent contributor to Canadian Contractor.

Dreams can and do come true • But first you’ve got to have one • And second, you’ve got to change the way you think • And third, you need to change the way you do things now • If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you always got!

www.canadiancontractor.ca

37895

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1/22/13 1:05 PM

THE CREATIVE EYE

KITCHEN DESIGN STUDIOS COME OF AGE Increasingly, builders need to offer their clients firstclass interior design services – including impressive showrooms. Obviously many contractors, especially independents, lack the time and resources to raise their game to this level. Enter the full-service décor studios, which can help builders to tour their customers through elegant, welcoming and inspirational surroundings.

The kitchen on this page, from a new home in Aurora, ON, comes from Primacor Designs, an independent décor studio in Toronto operated by Yasmine Goodwin. The mixing and matching of stained wood and light, bright neutral colours is definitely a winning, on-trend theme for a 2013 kitchen.

Beauty and the feast

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THE CREATIVE EYE

MY DESIGN STUDIO / PRIMACOR DESIGNS primacordesigns.com

All Photos: Larry Arnal Photography

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THE CREATIVE EYE

CLASSIC EURO-LOOK KITCHEN WITH CLEAN LINES The clean lines and minimalism that make this kitchen so striking are the work of Janine Shmuelevitz of Sisters In Sync Interior Design, Toronto.

Janine has built a firm that will work comfortably on everything from a single room in a house, such as a living room, to larger projects, such as a 120-suite condominium.

This Euro-style kitchen presents some elements that remind us that Janine preceded her interior design career with formal training in the visual arts.

All Photos: Larry Arnal Photography

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THE CREATIVE EYE

SISTERS IN SYNC DESIGN Sisdesign.ca

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THE CREATIVE EYE

SHADES OF GREY: A COMFORT COLOUR FOR KITCHENS It’s been called “the new neutral” for interiors: grey is anything but boring.

It’s a “comfort colour” which works brilliantly in light-filled contemporary kitchens. Grey works well with traditional styles as well.

This glorious Muskoka, ON kitchen with adjacent dining area/sunroom is the work of Belinda Albo Design Studio, Toronto, which offers a wide range of services in both commercial and residential design – from city homes to country cottages.

All Photos: Larry Arnal Photography

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THE CREATIVE EYE

BELINDA ALBO DESIGN STUDIOS Belindaalbodesign.com

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WALL CONSTRUCTION

Beyond R20:

High performance wall construction in an E80 world

By Steve Maxwell

With code standards on the rise, structural insulated panels are a wall construction alternative that’s growing in popularity.

W

all construction isn’t what it used to be, and that’s a good thing. Codes across Canada are demanding more than the old R20 minimum, and here are some options for making better walls happen in better ways.

Option #1: High R-Value Batts One way of building beyond R20 is with high-performance batts in regular wood frame walls, and this approach offers several advantages. First, the framing procedure is the same as it’s always been, with no new tricks for your crew to learn. Vapour barrier installation happens the same way as always, so building inspectors won’t have any questions.

As popular as it still is, wood frame walls have 36

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disadvantages that familiarity may blind you to. They do cost more to build than at least one other kind of wall offering equivalent energy performance (see “R17 SIPs Equal R24 Batts”), and hollow-wall designs of any sort are susceptible to internal moisture condensation and mold growth.

As homes get tighter, mold risk increases, along with associated legal liabilities. Also, since more than 10 per cent of the surface area of wood frame walls have continuous studs and plates extending from outside to inside surfaces, increased conductive energy losses happen through thermal bridging. It can also be more challenging than most contractors realize to achieve low air infiltration numbers with wood frames. (See “Air Infiltration Realities” opposite.)

WALL CONSTRUCTION

Option #2:

High-density batt insulation is one way to meet rising R-value requirements.

If you’re going to go with batts, then you should try stone wool types if you haven’t yet. They’re firmer than fiberglass, more impervious to water absorption and they don’t make you itch. Stone wool batts are also virtually dustless and it’s possible to cut them quite precisely. A serrated knife makes it easy to work down to 1/4” tolerances. Roxul is the big name in stone wool batts world-wide (www.roxul.com; 800-265-6878), and their Canadian plant in Milton, Ontario is the largest in North America.

Wood Frame Plus Exterior Insulation Cladding Like high-performance batts, inspectors are used to this so they won’t give this approach a second look.

Exterior insulation cladding on the outside of battinsulated walls improves on the batt-only strategy because it reduces hazards of wall condensation by preserving higher temperatures inside wall cavities. Exterior insulation sheathing also blocks thermal bridging through studs.

Installing exterior insulation does involve another construction step, but there’s something more important to consider. If you use sheet foam or another air-impervious material on the exterior side of the wall, it increases the risk of trapped condensation inside wall cavities. The problem arises from having what amounts to two vapour barriers on the wall – the 6 mil poly on the warm side of the frame, and non-breathable insulation on the cold,

Air Infiltration Realities

A

ir leakage has a massive impact on energy efficiencies, and even though building codes currently ignore this fact by typically not requiring air leakage tests, the writing’s on the wall. When was the last time you had a blower door test done on a new home you built? Probably never, though that will change. Building code authorities have served warning that code legislation will be moving towards the E100 standard over time, and this means a focus on air infiltration. In fact, only heavy lobbying by big builders halted the need to have blower door testing mandatory on every new home built right now in some jurisdictions, though this is just a temporary delay in the inevitable. And as you’ll eventually discover, getting good air infiltration scores with frame wall construction isn’t as easy as you might think.

As part of Canada’s ecoEnergy program, a study was completed on wood frame homes built between 2000 and 2009, and it showed just how extreme the differences can be in the air tightness of these structures.

Look at numbers from 2009 for example.

Air infiltration is at least as much about the walls systems That year the most energy efficient houses in the you choose as it is about workmanship applied. study scored just over 1.0 air changes per hour (ACH) in blower door testing. That’s excellent by any measure, but it wasn’t typical. Over 7700 homes in the test sample didn’t achieve the current target of 1.5 ACH, and over 4400 homes leaked more than 3.1 ACH. One Niagara Falls, Ontario house registered an astonishing ACH of more than 49. Wide variations in scores like this point to what we all know: small mistakes in wood frame assemblies translate into lots of unwanted air infiltration.

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WALL CONSTRUCTION

R17 SIPs Equal R24 Batts

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field study released in February 2013 by Dr. Tony Shaw of Brock University shows that 4 1/2”-thick SIP walls rated at R17 provide energy performance superior to R22 fiberglass wood frame walls, and the same performance as wood frame walls insulated with R24 fiberglass batts. That’s significant news because these R17 walls cost less to build than these other options. So how come R-values don’t translate into real world energy performance? And how do you get any building inspector to let you build with R17 walls in a world where R22 or R24 is legislated?

R-values don’t paint a complete picture of any insulation product because R-values only evaluate conductive energy transfer through physical contact. R-values and the codes built around them don’t account for energy transfer via convective air movement, and this makes all the difference. If you’ve followed up on the energy performance of your projects, you’ve probably noticed how, for instance, foam-insulated structures perform better than other kinds, R-values being equal. The reason is simple. Any insulation that lets air move through it lets energy escape by convection, and that’s not part of R-value ratings.

So what will the building department say when you propose to use R17 walls in an R22 or R24 world?

Technically speaking, there’s no grounds for objection. Since R17 SIP walls have been shown to perform “as good as” or better than the R22 or R24 fibreglass wood frame wall, you’re covered.

nesses up to 48” x 96” sheet size. At a density of 8 lbs. per cubic foot, this product is also stiff enough to support wooden strapping fastened directly on top for support of wall siding.

Option #3: Exterior, vapour-permeable rigid insulation with strapping applied over top.

exterior side. If moist, indoor air does make its way into the wall cavity through a flaw in the interior vapour barrier, internal condensation can’t always diffuse easily enough to the outdoors through the exterior insulation cladding the way it can with typical framing.

One way around this danger is by using an exterior wall insulation sheathing that lets vapour pass through it. Roxul’s ComfortBoard IS is the latest and most widely distributed rigid stone wool board of its kind. It is available in 1 1/4”, 1 1/2”, 2” and 3” thick-

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Spray Foam Studs-and-Batt Hybrid Spray foam offers terrific energy performance and excellent air sealing, but filling entire wall cavities with the stuff is beyond the building budget of many clients. One growing alternative is to spray an inch or so of foam against the inside face of the sheathing to seal it, then install batts in the rest of the cavity. This costs less and seems good, but this practice can also be dangerous. Condensation risk is the reason why. If there’s any leak in the poly vapour barrier on the warm side of the wall, internal air will get into the wall cavity. It happens all the time, and even with the spray foam on the cold side of the wall, leaked internal air could still condense inside the cavity during cold weather,

WALL CONSTRUCTION

Spray foam used over stone wool batts is one way to deliver better energy performance at reasonable cost.

with no way to escape outside because of the spray foam. This is why a safer option for gaining the benefits of spray foam at lower cost involves putting a thinner layer of batt insulation into the wall cavity first, followed by spray foam on top, on the warm side. This still provides great air sealing, while also eliminating the possibility of trapped condensation.

You should still apply 6 mil poly vapour barrier on the warm side of the wall, but foam enhances the performance of the assembly substantially. The only hitch is that spray foam can typically only be applied over the more rigid types of stone wool insulation batts. Besides being more pleasant to work with, Roxul’s ComfortBatt is the most widely available batt with sufficient density for use under spray foam.

Option #4: SIPs Wall Construction Structural insulated panels (SIPs) go up faster than any other method of wall construction, and low air infiltration is virtually automatic. It’s actually quite difficult to build a leaky structure with SIPs, so low air change per hour (ACH) numbers are a given. Since SIPs are sandwiches of foam and sheet goods, there’s no need to sink screws into studs,

Building with exterior, vapour-permeable cladding.

Rim Joist Best Practice

I

f you’re aiming to optimize wall construction, it only makes sense to look at rim joist areas, too – both in basements and between floors in above ground levels. It’s almost universal to insulate these areas with fiberglass and 6 mil poly, but this approach is certain to allow condensation and mold growth. That’s because it’s impossible to properly seal poly vapour barrier where floor joists meet exterior walls. Spray foam, by contrast, offers a perfect alternative because it seals rim joist areas quickly and completely. Since these applications are small, it rarely pays to call in a foam contractor because there’s not enough work to justify the house call. Tiger Foam (www.tigerfoam.ca; 888.844.3736) is a Canadian company that offers portable, professional-grade polyurethane spray foam kits that are ideal for rim joist work. Since this type of foam is closed cell, it acts as its own vapour barrier. The hoses and guns on Tiger Foam kits are tougher than others I’ve used, and the company offers a jobsite-priority delivery service. Call or email the order in, and it’ll arrive by courier on your jobsite in a day – two if you’re in the boonies.

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WALL CONSTRUCTION

making drywall installation easier. There’s no nailpop hazard either, since the OSB sheathing of SIPs is drier and more stable than framing lumber that’s typically 15 to 20 per cent moisture.

Working with SIPs does require a hot knife and a wide-capacity hand-held saw to cut panels, and your crew will need to learn a few new skills. Even though SIPs have been around for 40 years, some building inspectors might still be unfamiliar with them, at least at first.

For those willing to learn to build differently, one SIP approach does offer the lowest current cost option for exterior walls while meeting the most rigorous energy performance figures on the books right now (see “R17 SIPs Equal R24 Batts” on page 38). This method also uses thinner-than-usual wall components, which translates to about 25 sq. ft. of additional floor area in a typical home.

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are most often used for walls, but they’re also used for floors, roofs and foundations.

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SIPs aren’t just for single family dwellings. A growing number of commercial projects are being built with this material.

Marketing benefits of SIPs include the fact that they’re three times stronger than wood frame walls, and structures built with them typically use 30 to 50 per cent less energy than structures with the same R-values delivered in other ways. Homeowners can also hang pictures, shelves and fixtures anywhere on a wall, without need for plastic anchors.

How important is it for you to build efficiently?

How important is it that the structures you create deliver better-than-average energy efficiencies?

How friendly are you toward innovation? Your answers to these questions say a lot about your destiny as a builder. More and more Canadians are fed-up with high household energy costs, and some of them are pretty savvy about what energy efficient construction is really all about. Developing your own recipe for building energy-efficient walls economically is only part of what success as a contractor is all about, but as homeowners demand better quality building envelopes, it’s getting to be a pretty important part. cc

WALL CONSTRUCTION

ICFs

Getting Better

Photo: AMVIC Building Systems

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ike many innovative wall building methods, ICFs are poised to gain popularity as rising code requirements for insulation and air infiltration make it more difficult to build code-compliant wood frame walls. Industry players have been warned that steadily rising code requirements for energy performance will be a reality of life as far out as we can see, so it’s just a matter of time before everyone ends up building walls differently.

And as both clients and code officials up the ante on energy expectations across the board, leading manufacturers of ICFs are responding.

ICFs have always been ahead of stud frame walls as far as energy performance goes, and for years this was achieved with standard EPS foam thicknesses of 2 1/2” per side. For the first time since ICFs came on the scene, this is starting to change.

Amvic Building Systems (www.amvicsystems. com) is one of the first manufacturers to beef up ICF side thickness from 2 1/2” to 3 1/4”. This boosts total R value from 22 to 30, but also pays off by reducing a challenge that’s been common with ICFs ever since they were invented.

While you can certainly brace ICFs firmly enough with lumber so they don’t break during a pour, it’s also easy to under-brace or over-vibrate enough to cause form failure. Adding an additional

3/4” of foam to each side might not seem like much, but it results in noticeably greater break resistance.

One overlooked virtue of ICFs is its ease of use on rocky sites where bedrock exists in the building zone. While it’s certainly possible to cut and fit plywood forms to follow the undulations of bedrock, this is slow and costly. ICFs are much easier to install in a level position over bedrock because it’s so much easier to scribe and cut foam than wood.

Pre-assemble the two bottom rows of ICF sections for each wall (or sections of walls if they’re long), find the highest point of rock in the perimeter of your building footprint, then use blocks to support the pre-assembled rows of ICF level from this point. Scribe lines on the forms following the rock, then use a recip saw to cut the foam. Remove the blocks and the ICF assembly should settle down and follow the undulations of the bedrock perfectly enough that a little spray foam fills any gaps before the pour. Amvic ICFs are especially well suited to this kind of work because they include beefier, 1” deep interlocking grooves for holding sections of forms together more firmly when they’re assembled ahead of time. For scribing long walls, you’ll find it helpful to glue ICF sections together with construction adhesive, making longer assemblies of forms for leveling and scribing. cc

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GEAR

Getting Into

GEAR What makes the Stanley FatMax™ Tool Vest great is all the pockets!

Some are reinforced for sharp tools. Some are removable – like the hammer holder – so if you don't feel like carrying all your tools for a particular job, you don't have to. The vest also has zippered storage for personal items – documents, smartphones. etc. Stanley's done a great job of creating a breathable, adjustable, functional tool carrier that's great for all weather conditions and is one size-fits all. Get it at Canadian Tire or RONA for $59.99. www.stanleyhandtools.ca

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GEAR

GLASSES AND RESPIRATOR COMBO TO REDUCE FOGGING Canadian winters can make working indoors and outdoors a little foggy. Anyone with goggles or glasses knows how handy a pair of windshield wipers could be at times. 3M has come up with a combination of products that may make the wipers unnecessary. 3M's Aura™ Particulate Respirators come with an embossed top panel that reduces eyewear-fogging. Add to that 3M's Virtua™ CCS Protective Eyewear with anti-fog lenses and airflow vents and they may just be the combo to wear all day long, whether you're working in a greenhouse or out in the snow. www.3m.com

THE ULTIMATE CONTRACTOR STORAGE SYSTEM The Dewalt Toughsystem storage solution is to the contractor what a really great set of luggage is to a pilot. The complete combination is three hard-cased storage units that attach onto a wheeled metal carrier. Each compartment can be used on its own, or combined in a variety of ways and made mobile. The customized storage keeps you organized in the workshop or on the jobsite. The complete combo retails for $399 at Home Depot and IC stores across Canada. www.dewalt.com

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March/April 2013

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GEAR

KEEP YOUR SMARTPHONE AND KEYS IN ONE PLACE

THE COOLEST HARD HAT ON THE BLOCK If you think all hard hats are created equally, the new Fibre-Metal Roughneck P2A Hard Hat by Honeywell Safety Products may just change your mind. A lot of engineering has gone into this simple cap. For one thing it’s super lightweight, but it’s also designed to balance perfectly on your head.

The interior locks and sweatbands are adjustable for optimum comfort.

Designed for extreme weather and work conditions, the Roughneck P2A can withstand temperatures up to 370 degrees Fahrenheit.

It comes in nine different colours, including bright yellow, green and strong orange. www.fibre-metal.com

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If you've ever come home from a job in the dark, you'll know how much it stinks to be sifting through your bag, looking for your keys, only to come across a new scratch on your mobile phone. We found this nifty product by Calgary-based company, Kuny’s. The Tech Gear smartphone holder has a padded, scratch-resistant fabric lining to protect devices from scratches and bumps, elastic side sleeves to hold pens or markers – super handy – and a carabineer clip for keys. And there's an LED light built right in! www.kunysleather.com

INCREDIBLY HIGH-VISIBILITY COWHIDE GLOVES The best gloves fit well, keep out dirt and protect. Safety King gloves from Quebec manufacturer Jomac do all that. A lot of research went into this extra pair of hands.

The cowhide material offers a lot of dexterity.

And they're designed to last – the finger tips and other areas of the gloves are reinforced with extra fabric to prevent wear and tear. Wrist cuffs keep out debris, whether you're working with wood or drywall dust. www.jomaccanada.com

GEAR

QUICK SUPPORT RODS THAT GIVE YOU AN EXTRA ARM

REVERSIBLE FIVE-IN-ONE JACKET Tired of getting your sleeves dirty? The Work King Safety lined five-in-one jacket by Winnipegbased Richlu Manufacturing has everything you’d expect in a work coat – a removable and reversible high-visibility liner (that can be black or reflective) with zip-off sleeves, a quick-release hard hat hood, an extended back to keep your legs warm and reflective striping. But the best part is the black trim on the sleeves and bottom to keep the coat from looking too dirty. Expect some copycats on this next season.

Available at TSC Stores, Peavey, Home Hardware and various safety supply companies. $149.99 www.richlu.com

Maybe it qualifies as more of a tool than gear, but Task Tools answers a lot of on-the-job problems with its Quick Support Rods and accessories. So it makes our bestof list. The rods can be extended as an extra arm. With various grip pads, they can be used in a pinch as support guards or simply to help hold crown moulding in place. The best part is they can be folded up and packed away when you're done. www.task-tools.com

SUPPORTS PAINT CANS

SUPPORTS CABINETS

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SPECIAL REPORT

>>

Bathrooms

When people start their families, they often

like to envision how the baby’s room will look.

Whether it’s furniture colours, or the types of

cartoon characters that will decorate the walls,

the room is usually designed for the child; however, when it comes to planning the design of a

bathroom, parents tend to choose child-friendly products over child-specific products, and that

demand is dictating the design of many products coming into the marketplace.

“If we design something that’s blatantly for kids it tends not to sell,” says Gray Uhl, director of design at American Standard. “If we design something that is obviously targeted at kids, people consider that — in the realm of how long they’re committing to on a plumbing project — too short a time span. The permanence of plumbing is not an area where they’re going to

select something that’s going to be fun for kids for three or four years of their lives.”

Reprinted from HPAC magazine

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D

onna Church, marketing and communications manager for Kohler Canada, says consumers are looking to get increased use out of the products they purchase for a bathroom for kids, and that the market has adjusted to offer those options.

“In recent years there has been a shift in products that can provide flexibility and room for adjustment; this is a huge benefit for a children’s bathroom,” she says.

Designing a bathroom that can be adjusted to a growing child's need is also cost-effective, she adds.

According to Church, over the past year consumers have been moving away from bright colours in the bathroom. “Kids adore colour, but a bathroom overtaken with bright hues can feel overwhelming and may grow out of date quickly,” she explains. “A trend we are seeing more this year is neutral, earth-toned backdrops with bursts of colours strategically placed in accents like fixtures, towels, shower curtains or wall murals.”

Maria Bosco, marketing, communications and training manager for Grohe Canada, says most parents are

SPECIAL REPORT

heading towards the child-friendly route, with a smaller segment of the population – with greater disposable incomes – focusing more on childspecific bathrooms.

“For the regular parent, they are going to go [the child friendly] route,” Bosco explains. “For someone who has tons of dollars, they might go for the more unique products specifically for children – the lavatory basin that’s Walt Disney scened [for example].”

Although American Standard tends to gravitate away from kid-specific products, Uhl says children are considered in the majority of the designs.

Some examples of child-friendly products Uhl mentions are single-control bath faucets with hot water limit safety switches, pressure balancing valves or thermostatic valves for tubs and showers, and dry and safe storage areas for bath-time toys.

Anita Griffin, marketing brand manager for Masco Canada Ltd., which represents numerous brands including Delta, BrassCraft, Axor, Brizo, Delta Commercial, Hansgrohe, Motiv, Alsons, Master Plumber, PlumbShop and Waltec, says a big selling point for parents are products that are fun, safe, stylish and make children’s daily bathroom routines easier.

“Whether it’s convincing them to brush their teeth after meals, wash their hands when they get home from school, or take a shower or bath before bed, most children are less than enthused about bathroom hygiene,” Griffin explains. “Any time parents can come up with creative, fun ways to encourage children to engage in routines, the more success they will have.”

Another product designed with kids in mind is the Flowise Modern Handheld Shower from American Standard that comes equipped with an adjustable height bar. “It’s so much easier to clean the tub and wash it out,” Uhl explains. “As kids transition [from bath to shower], it allows them to adjust it to a height that’s comfortable for them.”

Moen’s handheld showerheads come in several styles and finishes. Its grab bars feature SecureMount technology, ranging in size from 12 to 48 inches, can hold up to 500 lbs. of weight and are offered in a variety of finishes.

The Baby Devoro round front toilet from American Standard features 10 ¼-in. rim height to offer children a more convenient height.

The Delta In2ition Showerhead features multiple spray options, rubber spray holes for easy cleaning and is available in three finishes: chrome, Brilliant stainless and Venetian bronze.

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SPECIAL REPORT

The Hansgrohe Alfie Hanshower uses Alfie the Aquasaur to make showering more fun for children of all ages.

It features an ergonomic design for children’s smaller hands.

The Rainshower Icon showerhead from Grohe is available in six different colours, and a chrome finish.

The Rainshower Colour Collection from Grohe is another option for consumers looking to design a kidfriendly bathroom. It is a collection of showerheads and hand showers that are designed in six different colours to appeal to kids.

“The handheld version has a button on it so you can reduce the flow, so when you’re washing their hair it’s a little more gentle for them,” says Bosco.

Changes in trends

The Flipside Handshower from Kohler offers four unique sprays with its innovative Flipstream technology.

The Delta Addison Bathroom Faucet with Touch2O Technology activates the water through contact with any part of the faucet or by activating the sensor. The faucet’s temperature can be limited to prevent scalding.

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Despite the demand for child-friendly bathroom products that accommodate every member of a household, there is still some demand for child-specific products. Uhl says this is mainly due to two trends: changes in house design and the aging boomer population.

He says many homes are designed now with a bathroom for the adults and another for the children, and in some more luxurious cases, a bathroom for every bedroom.

“The notion that there’s one bathroom that everyone in the family uses is dating really fast,” Uhl says. “The adults in the house use a different bathroom than the kids use.

That’s allowed a lot of growth for kids’ products that are friendly to them.”

He adds that more “well-to-do” parents may decide to design a bathroom specifically for their children, and that the aging baby boomer population whose children are grown up and out of the house may also decide to customize a bathroom for their grandchildren.

“If the boomer grandparents did okay, then they may have a special bathroom or give an extra effort to a kids’ bathroom,” Uhl explains.

The Baby Devoro from American Standard offers consumers the option of installing a toilet specifically designed for potty training kids. “There are some parents that elect to install toilets [like the Baby Devoro] that are the same height as children’s toilets in daycare – smallersized seats and lower bowls," says Uhl.

SPECIAL REPORT

Factoring in an aging population One of the more recent changes in bathroom trends and designs is creating products that accommodate aging boomers and young children simultaneously.

“It’s very common to have many ages living in one house at the same time,” explains Garry Scott, vicepresident of wholesale marketing and brand development for Moen Inc. Canada. “If you’re using a bathroom, you want one that’s safe for everybody. But specifically if you’ve got young kids, you want something that can help keep safety top of mind when you design the bathroom and keep it safe once its constructed.”

Many of the vanities, countertops and toilets on the market currently have been raised in height to accommodate an older demographic, but childfriendliness has still been infused into some products.

Uhl says he had an epiphany as a product designer for one kid-friendly bathroom product after an experience with his son.

“My son had one of those little wooden step stools that sat in front of the sink that he would stand on when he was using the sink. It was annoying to me because it was always in the way whenever I went into that bathroom.

So, when he reached a point where I thought he was big enough and old enough that he didn’t need that step anymore, I took it away. A couple of days later he’s getting ready for bed and I’m walking by his bathroom at bedtime and I look in – and much to my horror – there he is in the bathroom standing on the toilet seat, leaning over, hanging on with one hand to the sink and the other hand brushing his teeth.

“We have vanities now that have an internal pullout step. It looks like a perfectly normal piece of bathroom furniture with a tow kick with non-skid material that has pullout steps for kids to use now that the vanities are upwards of 36-inches high,” said Uhl. Whether parents and grandparents are creating a bathroom with child-friendly fixtures in mind, or designing a bathroom specifically for a child, kids will always be a driving force in the industry’s design and marketing of its products. cc

American Standard’s Berwick 2-Handle Thermostatic Valve has a cast brass valve body.

The bottom lever handle sets the temperature while the top handle functions as an on/off volume control.

American Standards’ Generations Vanity Shelf features a slide-out step with a tow kick to accommodate children.

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WHAT DID THEY PAY?

Win me!

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

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

What did they pay?

Even during the economic slowdown of recent years, Saskatchewan’s economy sailed along nicely, with Saskatoon’s renovation and new housing market particularly strong.

This month’s “guess the cheque” project comes from that marketplace.

CANOPY INSTALLATION

With 5 Skylights

(Materials and labour) After

This project consists of the supply and installation of a 12’ x 50’ canopy over an existing deck. As shown at lower left, the structure consists of 2’ x 8’ rafters and, as shown at top, there are five skylights.

To add to the fun, we won’t give you the dimensions of the vertical columns which are finished in cresone-faced ply – you’ll have to guess them based on the probable weight of the canopy, factoring in Saskatoon’s snow loads.

(Because we don’t know the size of the columns! – Editor.)

Oh, and you’ve got to supply and install asphalt shingles to extend to the top of the garage.

So, what do you think this canopy cost the owner of the home? Email us your best estimate, and if you are one of the three closest to the cost, you will win the Irwin level set shown above.

Last month’s winners

(Steel roof) Marcus Plowright, Cindy Martin, Jim Quaife

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Before

EMAIL YOUR ESTIMATE TO: spayne@canadiancontractor.ca Everyone that responds will get a subscription to our weekly e-newsletter, even if you don’t win the very cool Irwin level.

YOU WOULDN’T EXPECT A PREMIUM LINE TO OUTSELL LOWER-PRICED PRODUCTS. THIS ONE DOES.

TREX TRANSCEND

®

DECKING AND RAILING.

FLYING OFF SHELVES. DEFYING EXPECTATIONS. WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? PLENTY.

WHERE ENGINEERING MEETS ARTISTRY THE COLLECTION ©2013 Trex Company, Inc.

STEEL FRAMING

DECKING

RAILING

LIGHTING

TRIM

T R E X .C O M

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