Canadian Contractor August/September 2011

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011

$9.95

Towards THE ENERGY EFFICIENT HOME The future is becoming mainstream

ALSO INSIDE: The safety landscape Getting past your first million Spectacular staircase

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Contents Features Cover Story

20 Towards the energy efficient home

Energy efficient homes must follow five important rules

31

page

Departments 7 Editorial

Your energy efficient options

15 Contractor University Grow your company, Part 2

31 Design build Beautiful steps

Facts and Ideas 8 Built to be safe

Cover photo courtesy of: EcoPlusHome.com

Across Canada, provinces are ramping up safety protection

The Holdback 38 Green consciousness in renovation

10 Site notes

ecoEnergy returns...wood bikes...T-shirts

Guest Columns 12 Victoria Downing Getting what you pay for

13 Ian Szabo

“If you do a good job...”

www.canadiancontractor.ca

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Stuff we like 34 Steve Maxwell’s top tool pics 36 Product file: Milwaukee...IDEAL...DriTac

CANADIAN CONTRACTOR ❙ August/September 2011

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Editorial

want energy efficiency?

The “efficient home” market provides lots of help for contractors who want to build efficient homes.

R2000

LEEDs

The granddaddy of the efficient home movement, R2000, was developed in the heady days when the scientific consensus was the world was headed for an Ice Age and heating bills for frozen Canadians were about to skyrocket. They are still being built. R2000 is considered a good baseline option for building the more up-to-date energy efficient concepts. If R2000 was a car, it would be the factory model while NZEH or EcoPlusHome (see below) would be the upgrade package with tinted windows, leather seats and low ride suspension.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is another rating system that gives points to builders for doing good things for the environment during the build as well as providing energy efficiencies. There is an element here of social responsibility and greenness that doesn’t exist with the more energy conscious programs. In LEEDs, you get brownie points for reducing your waste and using lumber from forests that are being properly renewed. Of the five categories of its points system, only two relate strictly to energy efficiency.

The Net Zero Energy Home (NZEH)

The Passive Home

There actually is no set piece “Net Zero Energy Home.”

NZEH is more a movement than a building, although there is no question the endgame of NZEH is to have a design for a home and specific protocols for building it. The NZEH is defined as a home that, “at a minimum supplies to the grid an annual output of electricity that is equal to the amount of plug load power purchased from the grid.”

The distinction of being “net zero” is an important one. There is an assumption that the house is hooked up to a municipal electrical grid. It uses the benefits of public utility services, but to be “net zero” it must “pay back” to the grid what it uses.

Apparently, the embodied energy of money is not enough.

The Passive Home is NZEH without the need to feed energy back into the grid. There is the same interest in affordability; it stands equal to energy efficiency as a priority. Good stewardship of our planet is not really on the radar here. These homes are very tight and need high efficiency HRVs to make them work properly. Unlike NZEHs, they don’t need to be loaded with solar panels and windmills to give back to their local utility.

EnerGuide and Energy Guide for Houses There is no “Energy Guide” home, either. It is a rating system to determine a home’s efficiency. The EnerGuide rating system (which is the same rating, but for existing homes. Energy Guide is for new homes) just got a big boost in recognition (again) from the Federal government’s decision to revitalize the EcoEnergy Retrofit program for homeowners with $400 million in grants.

This rating is also being used in setting baseline efficiencies for most provinces building codes. The baseline of Energy Guide 80 is quickly becoming the minimum required standard for all built-to-code houses. The EcoPlusHome (see below) uses it to determine its success in reducing energy use in its homes. www.canadiancontractor.ca

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EcoPlusHome A newcomer to the green home brand market, EcoPlusHome is largely the brainchild of German company Bosch. Based in Atlantic Canada, EcoHomePlus is more a consultancy. Any builder in Canada can take an existing plan to EcoPlusHome and its experts will customize it by plugging in its prepackaged solar voltaics, ground source heat equipment and other technology not surprisingly supplied by Bosch. The objective, according to director of marketing and communications Michael Dunn, is to achieve an Energy Guide rating of 91 or better. Dunn says that if they can’t achieve that rating, or if the builder is unwilling to make key changes recommended by EcoPlusHome, it won’t allow the use of its brand for the home. If NZEH is the goal, EcoPlusHome is a track to getting there.

—Robert Koci Canadian Contractor y August/September 2011

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Built

to be safe In this industry you need to guard against slips, trips and falls.

There’s the potential for excavation cave-ins, electrical contacts, strikes by moving vehicles, sprains, strains and exposure to hazardous substances and chemicals. And, oh, yeah, what about …the list goes on and on.

By Angela Stelmakowich Residential construction sites present a mixed bag of contractors, all with different work experiences, accident histories and views on safety. Unfortunately, how “quickly,” not how “safely,” to do the job seems to take the lead.

Just as varied are the fuels that drive potentially hazardous conditions: poor communication, inadequate planning, a lack of supervision, insufficient or ineffective worker training and far too little enforcement, suggests the report, “Safe Work Practices for House Construction,” released by WorkSafeBC in Richmond, B.C. in 2005.

OLD IS NEW As far as John Fuke is concerned, it all comes down to choice.

“Choices, bad decisions, period,” says Fuke, technical services manager for Canada at Capital Safety Inc. in Mississauga, Ont. “There is nothing worse than what’s been going on here with the choice of putting people in the air without fall protection on.”

Of course, none of this is new. Pick a province—any province—and some warning, caution or advice about residential construction has likely been dispensed in the past. Nova Scotia released a statement in May of 2005, reminding stakeholders to take site safety seriously. “It is still early in the construction season, and already this year we’ve had to deal with a number of complaints and accidents related to falls at construction work sites,” said then labour minister Kerry Morash said.

As part of an associated awareness campaign, provincial staff conducted 49 inspections of residential construction sites in and around Halifax. In all, 95 orders were issued for violations mostly relating to fall protection, scaffolding and first aid. “There’s still a mentality that injuries and fatalities happen to other people. But the statistics tell a different story,” Morash said at the time.

Five years later, Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour and

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Workforce Development (now Department of Labour and Advanced Education) was considering the findings of a review of the root causes noted in about 700 accident investigations.

Some of the conclusions reached are striking, says Jim LeBlanc, director of the department’s Occupational Health and Safety Division. Either “safety just wasn’t considered when they undertook to do the work” or “there wasn’t the commitment in the organization to do the work safely,” LeBlanc reports.

The message relayed is intended to influence behaviour. Ontario’s Ministry of Labour (MOL), for example, points out that in many cases of fall-related deaths in residential construction, “the victim was wearing a fall arrest harness, but it was not secured.”

In the spring of 2010, Nova Scotia’s labour department had one figure for all construction injuries, but plans to pull out specific residential construction numbers in the future. With regard to fatalities, there was one residential construction death in 2010 (heart attack), one in 2009 as a result of a fall, and one in 2008 (another heart attack), LeBlanc notes.

Historically, he says, about a quarter of occupational health and safety (oh&s) compliance orders revolved around breaches of the provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act—relating mostly to administrative demands. Beyond that, 11 per cent of orders were for fall protection; 10 per cent for first aid; 36 per cent for obligations under the oh&s general regulations (which cover things like guarding, ladder use and excavation); and seven per cent for Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System requirements. “My expectation is that you’re going to see a similar pattern in residential construction: fall protection, scaffolding, personal protective equipment, guarding and first aid,” says LeBlanc.

In Saskatchewan, 39 per cent of work inspections conducted in 2010 have been at construction sites, notes the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour (now Dewww.canadiancontractor.ca

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Facts & Ideas

partment of Labor Relations and Workplace Safety.) in Regina.

From 2006 to 2008, MOL staff in Ontario conducted 40,961 field visits to these sites and issued 112,166 orders.

(This compares to 36,200 field visits and 78,423 orders in the industrial/commercial/institutional construction sectors.)

Although the number of work-related deaths in construction overall decreased from 27 in 2006 to 20 in 2008, the ministry notes, “residential construction was responsible for the largest number of fatalities.”

Falls continue to be a major cause of traumatic fatalities and critical injuries, accounting for 11 of the deaths and 99 of the aforementioned injuries in 2008. Of the latter, 28 were falls from ladders, 14 from scaffolds and work platforms, and 57 from roofs and upper floors.

A LASTING REVIEW The high-profile deaths of four immigrant workers in Toronto in December 2009, coupled with the ongoing toll of construction fatalities, spurred a call by the Toronto-based Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario to appoint an investigator to look into the relationship between industry business practices and current legislation.

“Our health and safety laws need to adapt to our changing workplaces and emerging technologies,” Patrick Dillon, business manager of the council, said in a statement. “We need to make sure that our safety, training, monitoring and enforcement provisions and structures are up to date and able to address a changing workplace,” Dillon later added.

In response, Ontario labour minister Peter Fonseca named Tony Dean, a professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance and a former deputy labour minister, to head up an expert panel to consider changes to the Health and Safety Act. The report from that review was released and the result was Bill 160. Among other recommendations, the bill created a new position of Chief Prevention Officer to coordinate and align the prevention system and a new prevention council, with representatives from labour, employer and safety experts to advise the Chief Prevention officer and Minister. The changes also give the Minister of Labour oversight of the province’s Health and Safety Associations as well as the education, training and promotion of workplace health and safety.

BIG AND SMALL Size is one element that may make a difference in residential construction. Grant McMillan, president of British Columbia’s Council of Construction Associations (COCA) in Richmond, B.C., suggests one difficulty in improving safety traction in residential construction is that there are many small contractors who are not aware of provincial requirements. “This problem is compounded by the fact that residential contractors tend to www.canadiancontractor.ca

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hire for the short term, and it is therefore more costly to train a revolving door of workers.”

That revolving door can be even more challenging when vulnerable workers begin walking through. This status, Dillon says, “may be used as a threat to force [workers] to do certain things that they’re not trained to do.”

Fuke notes that with immigrant workers, the case can certainly be made that they do not understand the law or know that they can refuse unsafe work. It is not the fault of an immigrant who is simply trying to earn a living, he emphasizes, but rather of those who are “taking advantage of the system” and, in so doing, “are choosing to let people work unprotected.”

The potential for injury and death is increased “because, first of all, you have untrained workers on the site; second of all, you’re not adhering to code with respect to what they’re supposed to do in a fall protection scenario,” he says.

Dillon says he recalls speaking to an Ontario contractor who has a stellar reputation. He asked the contractor, “‘How many of these voiceless workers come knock on your door looking for work?’ And there are none. That tells me there’s an underground network at play here that is feeding voiceless, untrained people into certain contractors.”

It is crucial to get “people as educated as quickly as possible with respect to their rights,” Fuke says, and to “get these employers or people employing them to work within the law.”

Fuke suggests it would be helpful to streamline the process so contractors can complete things like bonding and building permits in fewer steps—or even before a single agency.

ECONOMIC HIT HITTING SAFETY? “The pressure to do construction work as quickly as possible

HOW EASY IT IS TO DIE Workers in BC had been installing a bracket system on the roof of a four-storey building, but postponed the task after arriving one morning to find that heavy frost had formed on the plywood sheathing. The idea was to wait until the sun melted some of the frost.

A fall protection lifeline system had been installed and inspected, and the worker tied off when work later began. While moving metal bars for the bracket system, though, he unhooked his lanyard. He then found two bars frozen together, prompting him to strike them on the roof to break them apart, which caused one of the bars to slide toward the roof’s edge.

When he reached out to grab the bar, he slipped on the frost, slid down the roof and fell 16 metres to his death.

Canadian Contractor y August/September 2011

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Facts & Ideas

Site Notes

By Robert Koci ecoENERGY is back The Harper government has restored the ecoENERGY Home Retrofit program to the tune of $400 million. The program will provide grants to homeowners who improve the energy efficiency of their homes. There has been some criticism, however, of the program’s duration. As it stands, homeowners must apply for their grants within the year.

Some feel the short duration does not give homeowners enough time to take advantage

often results in guardrails not being erected, openings in floors not being covered, or safe access to work platforms not being provided,” notes the WorkSafeBC guide.

LeBlanc says he sees both good and bad.

To the good, “if the economy is slow, then some of the larger companies that may work on commercial projects aren’t engaged in that side of the industry and they’re competing with the other firms, say, for residential construction and renovation. And they bring with them their attitudes toward safety,” he says.

With a slower economy, notes Fuke, there is more time to do the job, “so safety should be more important. You take it to a hot economy, in my opinion, it’s the other way around.”

“The

more costs you incur,

the more impetus you’re

going to have to grow the underground economy.”

of the offer. “Home retrofit programs are great for the economy because they help families, businesses and trades people across the country,” says Jeff Murdock, vicepresident of Building Insight Technologies. “But the onagain, off-again nature of these programs creates unpredictable conditions that make it difficult for businesses to develop a longterm approach.”

Cycled wood The use of wood in homebuilding is disappearing with the advent of materials like metal studs, high-density foam trim, plastic decking and

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—John Fuke, technical services manager, Capital Safety Inc. McMillan argues that “people tend to go for the lowest bid without asking about the safety program of the contractor.” Combine insufficient knowledge about oh&s demands with “the cost of buying fall protection equipment, training workers and following safe work practices using fall protection equipment; this takes time. And time is money,” he says.

“The more costs you incur,” adds Fuke, “the more impetus you’re going to have to grow the underground economy.”

McMillan says COCA strongly supports WorkSafeBC having a dedicated team of officers to focus on residential construction.

The need is clearly there, he argues, because “there have been cases where regulations are being ignored.”

There also needs to be education from within. The Construction Sector Council (CSC) in Ottawa notes that almost 200,000 construction workers are expected to retire between 2010 and 2018. With a view to the future—one that ensures sufficient skills

August/September 2011 y Canadian Contractor

and knowledge are available on the work site—the CSC announced in February 2010 that a national mentoring program has been developed and piloted.

“Since 80 per cent of training takes place on the job, an effective mentoring program will go a long way toward achieving the goal of training the next generation,” CSC executive director George Gritziotis says in a statement.

CULTURE CLASH It really comes down to culture. “The level of engagement with the workplace depends on factors such as the employer’s commitment to a strong health and safety culture and a well-defined, suitable and sustainable internal responsibility system,” notes the MOL’s Construction Sector Plan 2009-2010.

Other factors affecting engagement include the number of lost-time injuries, nolost-time injuries, the nature and extent of any past non-compliance, and corrective actions required of the employer to achieve compliance, the plan adds.

In Ontario, a construction fatality is currently subject to a mandatory coroner’s inquest. Dillon wholeheartedly supports that system continuing, but notes there have been hundreds of construction inquests over the last 20 years or so.

“And we haven’t got the job done,” he says. “That is evidence in itself” that something additional is needed.

Says LeBlanc, “if there’s anything that we would hope for with residential construction, we would like the sector to become more involved with the construction safety association.” There are services and knowledge that are “waiting to make some inroads in residential construction,” he adds.

Fall hazards are all known, Fuke says simply. “The key is, why aren’t we getting better at this? And, again, it brings me back to choices and the decisions that we make.” CC Angela Stelmakowich is the editor of OHS Canada, Canada’s occupational health and safety magazine. This article first appeared in OHS Canada in the April/May 2010 issue of OHS. www.canadiancontractor.ca

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Facts & Ideas

Guest Column

Getting what you pay for It’s important to match employee compensation to employer goals

By Victoria Downing One business owner thought that she had a great compensation program in place. Salaries were on the low side of average but the profit sharing distributed at the end of the year typically increased pay by nearly 20 per cent for a total that was significant. The higher the net, the larger the annual profit sharing checks, which for some exceeded $10,000. This plan kept overhead salaries low while keeping everyone’s eye on net profit. The goals of the program were logical and understandable, but it wasn’t working.

Turns out that her employees wanted the security of a steady and competitive salary. They were not interested in, nor did they value, the profit sharing distribution even though that system had the potential of delivering much more to the employee’s bottom line. WhileEnerFoam they were excellent employees, they didn’t thrive on1 Ad-Contractors_2010_04_05 PRESS-outlines.pdf the risk and reward of entrepreneurship. Secondly, they wanted

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a defined system for how they would receive raises.

This helped her understand that the current compensation system was working against another company goal—building longevity in the team. So she changed it.

After researching the compensation processes of a variety of other organizations, she decided on the following: 1. Raise salaries to a more competitive level.

2. Create a set of measurable expectations for every position in the company. This would include tasks specific to the position as well as how the employee modeled the core values of the company. Because they were measurable, this greatly reduced subjectivity by the owner, which took away much of the owner’s stress during performance reviews.

3. Set up guidelines for raises so that everyone would un10-04-27 derstand how they affected their income. This was based on their performance against the expectations created. s Expectations not met – no raise. s Expectations met – three per cent raise. s Expectations exceeded – five per cent raise.

These parameters were easily budgeted for and were reasonable for a small company.

4. The owner still wanted employees to share in the success of the company and established a bonus program that maxed out at 10 per cent of individual employee’s salary. a. Sixty per cent of the total would be based on individual performance and rewarded at the discretion of the owner. b. Forty per cent of the total available would be based on the net profit of the company–keeping everyone focused on the bottom line.

The formalization of this process told her employees that she was listening. It also removed the perception that they would never be paid what they were worth, and so eliminated the idea that this was only a short-term stopping off point and not a place that they could call home.

Financially, the company was actually paying the employees a total that was less than the old system. But it answered the needs of the employees, which will hopefully, in turn, drive up retention–a major key to success for any small business. CC Victoria Downing, President of Remodelers Advantage Inc., is a leading authority in the remodeling industry. She is a recipient of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry’s Harold Hammerman Award. To contact Victoria call 301-490-5620 x105 Email: Victoria@RemodelersAdvantage.com

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www.canadiancontractor.ca

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Facts & Ideas

Guest Column

“If you do a really good job, I’ll tell all my friends about you” I hate it when I hear that

By Ian Szabo

Put your hand up if you’ve ever had a client use that phrase on you. In my opinion it’s nothing more than emotional blackmail to a contractor. It plays on the biggest fear that a contractor has. I hate this phrase and I’ve come to see it as a important red flag in customer relations.

But it would be wrong to blame it all on the customer. As contractors, we often give our customers the impression that we’re desperate. We do it through our marketing (“Free Quotes! We Do Any Job, Big or Small”) and also from our pre-job discussions with our clients (“I’ll be there to do the quote in 15 minutes!”) These show desperation; and once a customer knows you’re desperate, they’re more likely to take advantage.

Pre-Quote Package I always send out a pre-quote package, and I never jump at the opportunity to do a quote until I’ve received some form of commitment from the customer. This commitment comes through their response to the pre-quote package.

I ask them about: 1) Pets 2) Preferred starting schedule 3) Preferred end date 4) Work day hours 5) Presence of elderly or people with breathing problems 6) Exact product specifications including SKUs 7) Their willingness to pick up and supply materials There is no limit to the questions you can ask before you go to the house to do a quote. The key is to keep it reasonable and look for the customers who show their commitment by working through your prequote package. www.canadiancontractor.ca

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I always explain what we do and how we do it, and I demand some form of response.

If they respond by going through the package, I know they are serious and I take it as a sign of commitment.

Test the Relationship If a customer begins to take liberties with me, I find that the best strategy is to push back.

I’m not saying that you should fly off the handle, but a firm response will help you to position yourself stronger with the customer.

I try to be prepared for any of the objections that the client may have or any of the tricks that they use to control me or instil fear. For example, if I’ve given them a quote on a renovation and they say they know a tradesman who could do one part of the job for less, I will then say “Okay, what part of the job would you like me to not oversee?”

Make it clear that you won’t manage any part of the job where you don’t control who does the work. Inform them that in your service contract there is a stipulation that you can back-charge per day if the job is held up by outside trades-people that the customer hires. Once they are clear on this, they will almost always step back and change their opinion. They will also know that you are organized and that you have our stuff together.

If they ask for a price reduction based on something their cousin told them, ask how their cousin is going to do the job. Lay out your procedures clearly, and soon they will see that you’re not a pushover.

Be Willing to Walk Away Slowly, by working on yourself and knowing that you will be ok with or without any certain job, you’ll gain the confidence to say “I don’t need it.” This is the necessary attitude for ending the cycle of fear. Just say NO to bully customers and start taking jobs on your own terms. CC

Site Notes aluminum railings. Perhaps it is also because all the good wood is being used to make bicycles. The craftsmanship is obvious in bikes like this, even if the sanity of using wood to make a bike is not. It turns out using wood is very sane, albeit expensive, as bike frame material. These bikes have the reputation of being incredibly strong, light and durable. www.renovobikes.com

T-shirt fun You need to change that Tshirt. Really, it looks terrible.

Do you sleep in that thing? I know it’s your favourite, but can’t you wash it? Or how about you send a photo of your favorite job this summer

to Fab-Form, the company that makes fabric concrete forms for footings, and it will send you T-shirts for your entire crew. The are pretty snappy T’s as well: Gildan Ultra Cotton short-sleeved in OSHA-approved safety green.

You’ll have to put up with the Fab-Form logo on the shirt, but cheer up, on the back of the shirt it says, “I only strip on the weekends.” Reminds us of another T-shirt we were given that said, “I’m so old, an all-nighter is when I don’t have to get up to pee.” Wear it proud!! www.fab-form.com

Canadian Contractor y August/September 2011

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11-08-04 1:07 PM

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Contractor University In the last issue, we took a look at the common pitfalls preventing a $300,000 business from growing past that milestone. The following is the second in a four-part series that will examine the road to a $3 million business.

The 3 million

dollar road Part 2: Getting past your first million

By Mike Draper www.canadiancontractor.ca

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Contractor University

N

ow that you have mastered the $300,000 annual sales level it is time to set your sights on higher revenue and higher profits. Reaching for $1 Million in annual revenue is a very big step and may seem overwhelming at first, so let’s look at one of the key areas needing attention – cash flow.

Inadequate cash flow is one of the biggest reasons why a contractor doesn’t grow. Without positive cash flow, the constant cash shortages will force a contractor to remain small.

With proper cash flow management your business can grow and prosper.

Here is the Wikipedia definition of Cash Flow: Cash flow is the movement of cash into or out of a business, project, or financial product. (Note that “cash” is used here in the broader sense of the term, where it includes bank deposits.)

It is usually measured during a specified, finite period of time, such as a month. Measurement of cash flow can be used for calculating other parameters that give information on a company’s value and situation.

So every dollar that you bring into your company is referred to as cash in and every dollar you spend is cash out. Cash out does not necessarily relate to an expense item. An example of cash out that is not an immediate expense is buying a new truck or other asset that depreciates over time. You might pay $30,000 for a new truck and that is cash out. But it is not all expensed in the first year you own the truck. The actual expense on that $30,000 truck is the yearly depreciation allowed by CRA, typically 15 per cent the first year and 30 per cent each year thereafter.

Understanding the cash needs of your business as it expands is critical to your expansion phase. (If you would like me to send you a cash flow forecast sheet, email at: mike.draper@renovantage.com.) This forecast sheet will help you plan out what your cash needs will be as your business expands towards the $1 million mark. It will show you how much cash you will need to inject into your business, either through your own investment or some form of a loan. The key is to make this as low as possible, to know how much is needed, when you will need to extra money and when you can repay borrowed money.

In order to need as little as possible, you must manage your cash flow with your suppliers, sub-trades and homeowners.

Supplier and sub-trades want to get paid immediately and homeowners want to pay as slowly as possible. You want homeowners to pay as quickly as possible and you want to pay suppliers and sub-trades as slowly as possible. This is where the problem originates. You are in the middle, and, as such, if not managed properly, you will have cash flow problems.

How do you deal with this?

Negotiate with suppliers who will accept credit terms and credit cards instead of dealing with suppliers that are COD.

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Even if a COD supplier is cheaper than one who takes credit, it might be better for your business to pay a little more and be able to balance your cash flow. Remember, a business without positive cash flow will not survive. One with slightly higher costs and positive cash flow can survive.

Some sub-trades always seem to have their hand out asking for money to continue working on a job. The reason is they usually have a cash flow problem of their own, but, this is not your issue. Work with sub-trades who are willing to work with your payments terms. Set up a policy and a procedure where you will pay all of your trades once per week on the same day and time each week. Outline before you hire them what your payment policy is. Be fair. Live up to your commitment of paying them on the day you promise.

Here’s an example of a good plan that helps everybody: Tell subtrades that all correct invoices you receive by noon on Thursday each week will be paid by 3 pm on Friday the same week. Train your sub-trades to understand that when they get their invoices into you on time and you will pay them on time.

If they show up with an invoice on Friday they will have to wait until the following Friday to be paid.

In a scenario like this, the cut off is the deadline you set and they know the deadline before they even accept the work. And doing your sub-trade cheque runs once per week will free up time, enable you to have your bookkeeper come in less and take on more work for you. The bookkeeper can organize the invoices, allocate them to the job that they belong too, write the cheques and have them ready for your signing.

Now with predictable invoices dates you can better plan your cash out requirements.

Cash in What about cash in? Cash in is cash collected from your clients.

There are many different methods to collect money from clients. Proper project planning and cash out requirements need to be done so that you know how much money you need to be collecting on each job and by what date. Carefully plan to make sure that your payment schedule with your clients enables you to be cash flow positive. If your payment schedule is by date, then make sure your payments are more than the amount of work you will have completed at each milestone payment. This is easy to justify because there are costs coming up between payments that need to be covered. If you collect more at each payment than work completed you will be in a positive cash flow position.

Should you accept payments based on amount of work completed, make the payments due on commencement of work, not completion of work. By having payments on commencement, you can control your cash flow better. If the client doesn’t pay you, don’t start the next phase. It also provides www.canadiancontractor.ca

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money for the materials and the amount you must pay your sub-trades. If the payments are based on completion you will run into the situation where deficiencies or holdups on a phase can give your client justification for not paying.Imagine, for instance, that the electrical payment is held up because your painter has skipped town. Because you can’t install the faceplates before the painting is complete, a picky client could hold payment on the electrical even though it is virtually complete and you’ve already paid the subtrade.

Charging enough The number one factor that impacts cash flow is profitability.

No matter what you do about payment terms with clients, suppliers and sub-trades, you won’t have positive cash flow if your jobs are not profitable. You have to ensure that you apply enough markup to cover your direct costs (labour, material and sub-trades), overhead and profit. It’s common for the owner to wear many hats in a small renovation company. The owner is the general manager, sales rep, bookkeeper, site supervisor and project manager. If you do all of those jobs, you are probably working more than 40 hours per week. Maybe a relative or spouse does the bookkeeping and doesn’t get paid. You must pay yourself for all of the work that you and you relatives do for the company, or you will never have enough money to pay someone else to do it. The following are some guidelines as to how much you should pay for those tasks:

formed. Then set your profit goals. Now you can determine what is the proper markup.

The second big component of reaching $1 million in revenue is obviously sales. Without sales you can’t reach $1 million no matter how good your cash flow is.

The key is to boost your revenues from these four areas: (1) Increase your number of leads (2) Increase the rate in which you convert leads into customers (3) Increase the average dollar amount of each customer’s purchase (4) Increase the average number of times each customer buys from you Let’s assume you’re starting with the following situation: You have 100 leads in a year and you convert 1 in 5 into a client who does, on average, one $20,000 renovation with you.

Here would be the calculation for your revenue:

Number of Leads (NOL) 100 20%

Conversion Rate (CR)

Number of Transactions (T) (NOL x CR=T) 20 $20,000

Average $ Sale (AS) Owner/General Manager: 6-8 per cent of revenue Sales: 4-6 per cent of revenue Bookkeeping/Administration: 2-3 per cent of revenue Site Supervision/Project Management: 4-5 per cent of revenue If you are doing all these jobs, that adds up to a range of 16-22 per cent of revenue. If you can’t pay yourself that much for all of the jobs that you do in your company, you probably aren’t charging enough for your services. You will hit a plateau and stop growing because you don’t have enough money to hire someone else to do the work.

The old rule of thumb on markup is 10 per cent for overhead and 10 per cent for profit. Those factors are totally unrealistic for most renovation companies. Only contractors who do primarily large jobs over $250,000 and custom homebuilders can even begin to think about 10/10. Our experience is that most renovation companies have overhead that is at least 20 per cent of revenue. Most are more. If you aren’t making enough profit, look at your overhead expenses carefully and make sure that you are paying yourself and everyone who is working in your business a proper wage for the work perwww.canadiancontractor.ca

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NOL x CR = T x AS = Total Revenue 100 x .2 = 20 x $20,000 = $400,000 If you apply a 10 per cent increase to your number of leads, conversion rate, number of times customers make a purchase, and average purchase amount, the numbers look like this:

Original Number 10% Increase Number of Leads

100

110

Conversion Rate

20%

22%

# of Transactions

20

24

$20,000

$22,000

Average $ Sale

Now the equation reads: 110 x .22 = 24 x $22,000 = $528,000 That is a 32 per cent increase in revenue. Most contractors, Canadian Contractor y August/September 2011

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Contractor University

when they want more sales, try to generate more leads. But leads are expensive to generate. Why not take the 80 per cent of the leads that you have already generated and do a better job converting them into clients? They are already paid for. You are already in contact with them and more than likely they will buy from someone within two years. According to studies done on sales leads conversion, 80 per cent of leads you consider to be “dead” will buy within two years.

The average dollar sale Next, focus on increasing your average dollar sale. A client is already going to renovate with you, so try and get them to buy more through you. Are you providing all the material or is the client supplying it? What about repainting the hallway while you are in painting the new bathroom? Look for ways to get them to spend more with you.

Once a project is complete don’t just walk away and say it was nice working at your home. Call them back in six months and find out how they are enjoying the work you did for them.

Even drop by to see if everything is okay. You might just get

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wind of another project that they would like to do but didn’t know you could do that work. This is getting a client to buy more than once from you. Increasing the number of transactions they do with you will increase your sales.

Finally, when you have done a better job of converting existing leads into clients, increased your average project dollar amount and worked to get your clients to buy more often from you, you can then focus on generating more leads. Most contractors do this in reverse.

Lastly, you must be off the tools. If you are working on a regular basis on the tools, you dramatically reduce your odds of making it to $1 million in sales. It is time to invest in a site supervisor and/or lead carpenter to not only be working on site, but to be directing the workflow at the site.

Start with a lead carpenter and a helper. If you use subs, and have a job average of around $30,000, one team with a lead carpenter can take you to around $500,000. You will need to add a second team with a lead carpenter to keep growing.

Depending on your average job size, you will need to add a full-time site supervisor/project manager as you approach

www.canadiancontractor.ca

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$1 million. Visit www.renovantage.com/LeadCarpenter for a sample lead carpenter job description.

This combined function will keep your costs in line relative to your revenue. You need to be freed from the minute by minute, hour by hour, work on site so that you can focus on driving the business forward and working with your prospects to bring in new projects. At this level, your ability to sell is paramount to growing the business. If you are stuck on site then you are not out meeting new prospects.

Managing cash flow and fine-tuning your selling process are the two biggest challenges that you have in growing your business to the $1 million dollar mark. As we said in the beginning, with the right focus you can achieve this level of success. CC Renovantage Inc. is a first-of-its-kind home renovation group of contractors specializing in everything from room renovations to complete additions. Renovantage takes the risk and worry out of home improvement by giving contractors the business tools, systems and services they need to operate efficiently and reach the next level of growth.

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Toward the

Energy Efficient Home Energuide 80 is the new normal 20

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By Brynna Leslie

www.canadiancontractor.ca

11-08-03 9:03 AM

Cover Story

Photo courtesy of: EcoPlusHome.com

The Energy Efficient Home

I

f you don’t have your head wrapped around R-values and Energuide ratings, now is the time to get it together.

More than just a catch phrase, energy efficiency is set to become the new normal for residential construction.

Consultations are now underway to amend the 2010 national building code (NBC) guidelines, which will see increased levels of energy efficiency in all new small building construction by the end of 2012. “This is the first time we have ever addressed energy efficiency in part nine of the national code

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and we are aiming for an Energuide 80 rating in all new home construction,” says Frank Lohmann, senior technical advisor on housing and small buildings at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). “It’s probably the single biggest change that we have ever introduced as an interim change in the national building code.”

Many provinces have already made changes to codes, demanding unprecedented levels of energy efficiency in new homes and affecting everything from wall and attic insulation, to

➦

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Cover Story ❘ The Energy Efficient Home

What you said The residential building industry is being inundated with information and marketing on energy efficiency, green building and new technologies like never before.

We asked a number of renovation contractors to help us cut through the fog and tell us their opinions on some of the new products they use and where the money is when it comes to new technologies.

Dennis Bryant, Bryant Renovations, Toronto

W

ith green building, what’s difficult is knowing the right changes to make. I guess setting goals is the best way. It’s not always obvious when you make a change what all the ramifications are. The easiest kinds of changes that have the biggest impacts are simple, like having a higher level of insulation, which is one of the easiest ways to become more energy efficient and it lasts forever.

But there’s many other ways; it just takes time to develop them. We are seeing them slowly coming into our operations. We don’t make a big deal about it, but clients, one by one, are expecting a little bit more in terms of energy efficiency and looking at the bigger picture.

David Litwiller, Litwiller Developments Ltd., Calgary

O

ur customers are not necessarily demanding green products from us yet. We’re not seeing a big demand for it. And I have to ask myself, what does green really mean, anyway? A bamboo floor, for instance, is not a green renovation, in my opinion. The long-term research has not been provided on many of the products and methods considered green and it seems we are to listen only to the marketing propaganda. Half of green products are not even tested and proven, so that’s my thoughts on the green stuff. For me, it’s intelligent building, increasing your insulation values, perfecting your wraps. Just be a good builder and things work very well.

There’s one CMHC study that I’m aware of that says that perimeter rim joist space insulated with batt insulation and vapour barrier is just as effective as spray foam, but I like spray foam. I call the spray foam guy at the drop of a hat and I pay twice as much for it. It’s my understanding that spray foam is going to run into

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foundations, windows, and mechanics, like heating and cooling systems. Nova Scotia was one of the first provinces to mandate energy efficiency standards in its building code in 2009. Manitoba adopted new regulations in December requiring builders to install heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) and dual-paned windows in all new homes, eliminate the standing pilot light in fireplaces, purchase a 94 per cent efficiency furnace, and boost insulation in attics to an R50 value. “Greening the B.C. Building Code” includes a move to solar hot water heaters, where feasible, and high-efficiency toilets. And in Ontario, the Energuide 80 standard comes into effect on December 31, which will force contractors to build to a 17 per cent higher efficiency rating than they are now.

Any province or territory that has not already addressed energy efficiency in its code is expected to adopt the Energuide 80 standard into law by next year.

What is Energuide 80?

Here’s a quick tutorial on Energuide: Energuide is a complex rating system designed by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), which essentially uses computer software to evaluate the home as an energy system. You’re probably familiar with blower-door testing, which gained popularity for the duration of NRCan’s eco-energy retrofit program. The results of the test are just one of the factors used to determine the Energuide ranking of a house. The software measures the air-tightness of a building, but it also takes into account compensating factors such as furnace efficiency, air exchange, and any energy generated by solar or wind units.

It’s easier than you think Surprisingly, Energuide 80 is a lot easier to achieve than you may think. Yes, it is currently the Energy Star standard, a designation given by NRCan to some of the most energy efficient buildings out there. But solar power, grey water, and compostable toilets don’t even have to come into the conversation if you can successfully tweak your existing operations to address the basics.

Five ways to achieve energy efficient standards Rule Number One: Insulate it Contrary to old-school standards which focused on a house’s breathability, 99 per cent of energy efficiency comes down to how well you can tighten up the building’s envelope. “The old pack and slash, let it breathe method just doesn’t work anymore,” says Jamie Carson, owner of Icon Developments Ltd. in Ucluelet, B.C. “The engineering says otherwise, that the inside of a home always has to achieve equal pressure. You’ve got to www.canadiancontractor.ca

11-08-03 9:03 AM

work very hard to seal the homes up to make sure there are no gaps or penetrations where air can get in.”

In Ontario and Manitoba, code amendments outline a number of prescriptive construction methods or “recipes” to help builders achieve the new standards. In Ontario, for example, insulation in above-ground exterior walls will have to meet anywhere from an R24 to an R28 standard, depending on the types of insulation used elsewhere in the house, the efficiency of the home’s HRV and other factors, such as the quality of the exterior barrier.

While the wall insulation requirement is a notable increase over the R19 minimum established in Ontario’s 2006 code, it is totally feasible to achieve using traditional materials.

some challenges here because of how it’s being used.

A lot of people aren’t using it properly, and it’s causing a lot of condensation problems.

Steve Barkhouse, Amsted Construction Ltd. Ottawa

O

n green, I think improving education is the way to go. It must be consumer-driven; it can’t be driven by the government or small interest groups. I think it’s important to define what green is. It’s different to everybody and there’s a ton of greenwashing out there, so you really have to do your homework on the cork floors, bamboo floors, all of that stuff.

I personally believe it boils down, largely, to good or better building practices. Our company has actually been a green builder from day one. It’s just that “green” wasn’t a word back then like it is now. It was just good building practices back then.

We just finished a LEED Platinum renovation. We believe in a philosophy of the whole environment. It’s important to us. We invest in green and we stay on the leading edge. We think it’s important in Ottawa to be environmentally conscious.

Mark Hofstee, Rammik Construction Inc., Guelph, Ont.

Manufacturers have been keeping a close eye on the move to Energuide 80. In January, Owens Corning Canada launched EcoTouch PINK FIBREGLAS insulation to replace its traditional product. This batt insulation contains over 70 per cent recycled content, making it a sustainable way to match or exceed Energuide 80 standards.

“With the codes going the way they are, we went to builders, we consulted the industry, we went to our customers and to their customers,” says Andy Goyda, marketing development manager with Owens Corning Canada. “Builders are looking for a cost-effective way to meet the new standards. Yes, it is more expensive than before, but the most cost effective way to achieve this standard is still with batt insulation.”

Rule Number Two: Ventilate it “You don’t want your house to be too tight,” explains renovations contractor Joshua Abush, owner of Joshua Four Limited in Markham, Ontario. “You still have to have fresh air and good air quality in the house.”

It may seem counterintuitive to the first rule, but this is the what-goes-in-must-go-out rule of energy efficient building, which most homebuilders are already employing.

HRVs have become standard in many provinces, and are essential to meeting Energuide 80. Exterior walls insulated to the www.canadiancontractor.ca

Cover Story.indd 23

A

s far as the green goes, some customers are initiating conversations regarding it. But I still think there’s a bit of a disconnect between what the media is saying (that everyone is going green) and what the customers are actually asking for.

The price gets in the way for a lot of green products.

When they start figuring out what the cost is, customers back off. They’d rather that the cabinets are a little nicer than were full of all kinds of green products. I still think there’s a bit of a disconnect there.

Pawel Matonog, Archer Construction Group Ltd., Mississauga, Ont.

I

don’t find clients are asking for too many green products. I don’t pretend to be a specialist or an expert in the field. When I think of green building, I think things like insulation. I use spray foam wherever I can and I guess that can be considered green. You know, it’s the cost difference. I think the main concern that people have is their return on investment.

What they really want to know is how long before they get their money back for what we’ll put in. Once they crunch the numbers they realize that it’s a 10- or 15-year period before they actually get their money’s worth out of this; the reality is most people don’t live 10 or 15 years in the same home. So they usually choose to forget about it and put in nicer cabinets.

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Cover Story ❘ The Energy Efficient Home

R24 standard outlined by the Ontario code, for example, will have between one and two-and-a-half air changes per hour.

An HRV simply optimizes that air exchange by removing stale air from inside and bringing in fresh air from the outside. As it does this, it recovers any heat from the interior exhaust, which, in cooler temperatures, means giving the furnace a break.

Rule Number Three: Window optimization Code amendments dictate everything from proper glazing to optimizing solar gain or preventing solar penetration. In Manitoba, for example, double-glazing is the new legislated standard.

“But you also want to have the right number of windows in the right places,” says Abush. “If you don’t have enough windows, the house becomes a miserable place to be. Windows cost money and too many builders are eliminating windows or making them too small. If you look at the old Victorian houses, they had tall, wide windows, and they often have two to each bedroom. This is what people love about these houses, even if they can’t quite put their finger on it. You can still have lots of windows and meet the requirements.”

Canada’s Newest Player A well known manufacturer enters the energy efficient home market The EcoPlusHome test house in Bathurst, New Brunswick. With an EnerGuide rating of 96, this is the most energy-efficient home in Atlantic Canada and received national recognition when it won the inaugural 2011 Scotiabank EcoLiving Innovator’s Award. Powered by Bosch technologies and using modular construction from Maple Leaf Homes, the test house managed to generate an excess of approximately 1,000 kWh of electricity over a 12-month period in 2009-10 for the Kenny’s— the six-member “test family”. Working with both modular and custom home builders, EcoPlusHome offers the first one-stop technology solution for the most affordable, energy-efficient homes in North America. Visit www.EcoPlusHome.com

Rule Number Four: Mechanical efficiency Mid-efficiency heating and cooling systems have gone the way of the dodo. The mechanics of furnaces and air conditioners have a big role to play in meeting Energuide 80 standards.

“But keep in mind, if you do everything else right, if you’ve

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Photos courtesy of EcoPlusHome.com www.canadiancontractor.ca

11-08-03 9:04 AM

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Cover Story ❘ The Energy Efficient Home

wrapped the outside tight, insulated, and put good windows in the right places, you’re not using that much energy to heat or cool the house anyway,” says Abush. “So you could use the most inefficient microfurnace and still manage to meet Energuide 80.”

Rule Number Five: Make it look good This may seem like an odd rule in an article about energy efficiency. But a move toward energy efficient construction should not mean sacrificing good design or the marketability of your

Three Passive Problems It’s hard building a highly efficient, stateof-the-art home. Reiner Hoyer, president of the homeowner consultancy firm The Reno Coach and an award winning builder, found out it can be even harder to fight archaic rules and hidebound inspectors.

By Reiner Hoyer

H

product. You don’t need to install photovoltaics or other visible technologies that scream eco-friendly on the roof to meet new code standards. “A home first and foremost has to be aesthetically pleasing,” says Abush. “Otherwise, you end up with the 1970s, solar-looking houses. And people really don’t want to be shivering in the dark for the sake of efficiency.”

Toward Energuide 100 Building codes are, of course, the minimum standards in construction. And even with the new stringent requirements, there’s a lot of scope to improve the way you build homes and the materials you use to build them.

Carson, who is a certified BuiltGreen Canada builder, has won recognition for building two Energuide 89 houses, the second-most energy efficient homes in B.C. Efficiency comes into every aspect of construction, from reducing the amount of lumber used in framing and insulating headers to employing green technologies such as water re-use and solar pre-heat lines for water heaters. He believes the eventual building code standard will be net-zero homes, or Energuide 100.

“This is what the client wants,” says Carson. “You’d have to have the blinders on not to notice a trend toward everything green, from recycled countertops to solar energy. Builders may have to change the way they’ve traditionally done things, but it’s totally possible.” CC

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aving built homes for over 30 years both here in Canada and in my homeland, Germany, I am a firm believer in building to the highest standards. As the owner of The Reno Coach, a company dedicated to helping homeowners and renovators work together to build successfully, I also believe I have to teach by example. That’s why I decided that this home in Toronto would be built to the highest efficiency standards possible. I chose the Passive House standard originally from Germany. More than 35,000 Passive Homes have been built throughout the world now and the Passive House standard is internationally recognized. There is even a Canadian group (Canadian Passive House Institute www.passivehouse. ca.) dedicated to promoting their construction in this country.

Passive homes achieve truly remarkable efficiencies. Tests show that, on average, an R2000 home will use about 100 kWh/m2 (100 kilowatt hours of energy per metre squared) in energy annually while Passive Homes are rated at approximately 15 kWh/ m2. There is R60 for the walls, R80 for the attic, R50 under the basement floor and the windows are triple glazed at around R9.

The home’s natural air exchange rates is 0.6 changes per hour at 50 pascals, compared to Energy star at 3.1 air changes.

Problem #1: Efficient HRVs I expected a challenge in building this house, but I expected the challenges to come from the technology, not local bureaucracy.

The heat recovery ventilator (HRV) that I needed revealed the first problem.

All Canadian models available are not efficient enough (they run between 60 and 70 per cent) to do what my Passive House design needs, www.canadiancontractor.ca

11-08-04 1:10 PM

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Cover Story ❘ 2011 The Energy Efficient Home

but there are German models that run at between 95 to 99 per cent efficiency. I intended to bring one over and pay whatever it took to get the necessary approvals, but it seems the approvals will be long in coming, mostly because the entire design and concept of installing an efficient HRV is like a foreign language to the city building department. I have received no cooperation from them at all in the approvals process.

The concept behind my German HRV is simple. When you take air in to a conventional HRV at minus 10-to minus 20C in the winter, it requires too much energy to bring the fresh air up to plus 20C to replace the stale air to heat the home, so the German HRV uses a ground loop to heat the incoming air from minus 20C to around 0C before using it. By having the intake air pipe underground (about 10 feet below the frost line) the air is preheated by geothermal forces. Conversely, the air is pre-chilled in the summer before it reaches the house.

Not only that, the system dehumidifies the air. But the value of this system and its usefulness is completely lost to the building inspectors. I can’t get my HRV approved for use in Canada simply because it is not a conventional HRV that the inspectors have seen before.

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Problem #2: My SIPs My second problem is the SIPs (structural insulated panel) I like to use. They are made by RayCore, and I like the product for a number of reasons. First, it has a very high R-value—with a 2x8 wall that is 7 1/4” thick yet provides an R52 rating, it is a major benefit in a city where real estate is very pricey and good insulation for a regular wall thickness is hard to find.

I also like the fact that the structural frame is a stick frame with studs stacked to avoid thermal bridging. The walls are spray foamed. To me, that means I can expect excellent consistency in insulation along with a very strong wall.

But…the building department doesn’t like them. Despite the fact that there are dozens of projects across the city and province that have used them and have passed inspection… they don’t like them. All it is, really, is a framed wall sprayed with ULC-approved foam covered in ULC-approved foil and that includes wood probably grown in Canada and approved.

If I build the wall section exactly that way on site, with the same materials, I would have no problem. But it seems that, because it is a system made off-site in a factory, my building inspectors don’t like them and I can’t use them.

Problem #3: Old zoning bylaws The city lot has an old bungalow on the site and there is a 60-year-old zoning bylaw still in place that requires that I keep two of the old walls from that house. The walls have no insulation at all. The best I can do is insulate them as well as I can, but that means they won’t even be close to the standard I intended for the house. It is a ridiculous roadblock to progress in residential building that is just the kind of thing that continues to discourage quality building that, speaking out the other side of its mouth, the city seems so much to want to support.

I think it is time my city woke up and entered the 21st century in building technology. We are 30 years behind countries like Germany with energy saving building and there is no sign on the horizon, despite the claims of the politicians everywhere, that the bureaucracy will change any time soon. CC www.canadiancontractor.ca

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An artist’s rendering of the passive home Hoyer intends for his city lot.

Inset: The house currently occupying the lot

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Canadian Contractor y August/September 2011

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Design Build ❘ cityspace urban developments

UP

G N I rk o P w and case.

P k o t lo a stair E r a T ing t like k a M S a lo ob

By R

O

ne of the pleasures of design/build is confronting the challenges of thinking through at the design stage what you want to build and then, once you’ve drawn your vision, seeing it through to realty. Or as builder Andrew DelZotto says simply, “The pleasure of starting with nothing and ending with something that people love to live in.”

DelZotto found a challenge in a narrow city lot where he very much wanted to preserve as much width as possible for the house he was designing. The result is a stunwww.canadiancontractor.ca

Design Build.indd 31

Koci

ner of a staircase that not only takes up minimal space, but breathes air and drives space into the rest of the house as well.

Andrew DelZotto’s Cityspace Urban Developments is a boutique urban development real estate company in Toronto. Andrew gained his experience while working at his family’s high rise development firm, Tridel. After completing new custom home projects for Tridel, DelZotto formed Cityspace to focus on urban infill and rejuvenation projects in Toronto’s vibrant real estate market.

➥

CANADIAN CONTRACTOR ❙ August/September 2011

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Design Build â?˜ cityspace urban developments

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This dramatic stair was inspired by a functional problem.

The house is narrow, and DelZotto wanted the stairwell to take up as little space as possible. Installing a glass wall that doubles as the protective railing did the trick. “If you put railings down the side of the stairs and then on the floor level (to guard the stairs to the basement) you take up so much room in a tight, narrow home. I solved the problem with one piece of glass.” Not only does the glass work as a guardrail for the stairs, it opens the entire space. The minimalist stairs become more form than function, yet function dramatically well while looking like an art installation in the living room.

The stairs were built by embedding a steel header bolted to the stud wall and then covered with drywall. The header carries the skeleton for the treads, which were encased with the wood finish you see here. The glass wall does not have any structural function.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is getting the right guy to do the installation. “If you are going to do a staircase like this, you better have someone very experienced that you trust completely,” says DelZotto. The design has to be professionally done and you’ll need an engineers stamp as well, as there are few building inspectors that would look at this kind of installation without one. The next challenge, only slightly smaller; “The cost of a staircase like this is four to five times the cost of a regular staircase.” CC www.canadiancontractor.ca

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Stuff We Like

STEVE’S TOP TOOLS TOOLS EDITOR STEVE MAXWELL WEIGHS IN ON HIS SUPER TOOL PICKS

By Steve Maxwell

Good tools don’t necessarily look different than bad tools at first glance. Hands-on experience is the only way to tell the difference, and here’s my latest pick of tools from three different brands that have proven their worth through experience.

Most are new enough that you probably haven’t used them before. All else being equal, they can help you get more done in a day and put more money in your pocket.

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grams ready, to fire), and it worked reliably in every situation I’ve tackled. Although this nailer can’t bump fire like air-powered finishers, I don’t consider this an issue for trim installation. Unlike some other gas brad nailers on the market, this model uses easyto-find straight strips of brads. Street price: $389.

Pros: hose-free operation is easier than dragging a hose and compressor through the house Cons: opening and closing gas cartridge door takes a bit of getting used to

Paslode CF325 There are three reasons I like this hose-free framing nailer: the lightweight, angled, compact design fits into very tight spaces (even between 16” o.c. studs and trusses); the 50,000-shot cleaning interval reduces maintenance chores, and the nose piece is easier to push than any other gas nailer I’ve used, both for head-on work and toenailing. This is a stealth tool, measuring just 12” from front-to-back, and 14 3/8” top to bottom. At 7 lbs. 12 oz./3520 grams measured on my scale (ready to fire) it’s also about a pound lighter than the air-powered framing nailers I own. Unlike previous generations of gas nailers, the fuel canister just drops in, with no need to carefully align outlet fittings. Canadian street price: $529.

Pros: exceptionally compact, lightweight hoseless performance Cons: like all gas nailers, fuel cartridges have maximum 21-month shelf life

Paslode 16-gauge finishing nailer Firing 16-gauge finishing nails gives you an extra 1/2” of length over the maximum 2” nails that fit 18-gauge models, but what’s the point if the gun can’t sink the nails? I know from tool testing that many non-gas cordless finishing nailers can’t drive long nails all the way into hardwood. This model has plenty of power for times like these, and weighs only 1 lb. more than the lightest air-powered 16-gauge finishing nailer in my collection.

The Paslode 16-gauge weighs the same as their 18-gauge brad nailer. Street price: $399.

Pros: more driving power than competitive, non-gas cordless 16-gauge finishing nailers Cons: like all gas nailers, requires periodic cleaning

Milwaukee ProPex Expander

Paslode 18-gauge brad nailer This tool shoots the smallest diameter fasteners in the Paslode hose-free line-up. It’s also light and easy to hold (4 lbs. 15 oz./2240 www.canadiancontractor.ca

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This 12-volt cordless tool offers the fastest and most idiot-proof method I’ve seen so far for completing connections in PEXa pipe. The expander works with two other fittings in addition to the pipe itself: barbed plastic or metal fittings (tees, elbows, nipples, etc) and a joint ring. Slip the joint ring over the end of the pipe, then put the fingers of the expander in the end of the pipe. Switch it on and the fingers CANADIAN CONTRACTOR ❙ August/September 2011

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Stuff We Like

Product File

Power up Milwaukee’s third-generation lithium-ion batteries, called REDLITHIUM, are fully compatible with all M12 and M18 cordless products, require less frequent charging and can perform in temperatures as low as minus-18C. According to the company, REDLITHIUM batter-

ies deliver 40% more run time, 20% more power and 50% more recharge cycles. And because these batteries last longer than previous generations of lithiumion batteries, they don’t need to be replaced as often. Visit www. milwaukeetool.com.

What a bore!

IDEAL has launched the Tri-Bore multi-purpose hole saw that features a set of three large Tungsten Carbide teeth that provide extra-aggressive cutting action for heavy duty boring applications.

The Tri-Bore hole saw is compatible with standard battery-powered tools or fixed stationary machines and is ideal for use in HVAC, electrical, plumbing and maintenance/repair applications. Contractors can make faster cuts through almost any building material, including nailed wood, cement, plasterboard and composite material.

Visit www.idealindustries.com.

Find the wet spot The Pin/Pinless Deep Sensing Moisture Meter from General Tools & Instruments is designed

36

open and close while also rotating about 1/8 of a turn with each cycle. The fingers stretch the pipe and ring large enough to accept the end of the barbed fitting, and the pipe stays larger for several seconds. Remove the expander, slip the fitting into the pipe, then hold it there for a few seconds. You’re watertight in less than a minute as the pipe and ring shrink down over the fitting. The 12-volt expander handles PEX from 3/8” to 1” (comes stock with heads for 1/2”, 3/4” and 1” pipe). An 18-volt model is available for pipe from 3/8” to 1 1/2” (comes stock with heads for 1”, 1 1/4” and 1 1/2”). Street price: $499 for the 12-volt; $849 for the 18-volt.

Pros: high productivity with reliable PEX connections Cons: requires use of PEXa pipe and specific fittings

Milwaukee No-Hub Driver A no-hub connector is a type of clamp-tightened plumbing fitting used to connect drain pipes, and in order to meet code the screw clamps must be tightened to either 60 or 80 inch/lbs, depending on the connector. Until now this meant maintaining a set of calibrated torque wrenches, but there’s a faster option. Milwaukee’s unique cordless 12-volt no-hub driver is calibrated to tighten the screw clamps to exactly 60 or 80-inch pounds, depending on what’s required. The tool is supposed to check itself for accuracy during use, alerting you when recalibration is required.

The manufacturer claims 25,000 installations before recalibration is needed, but even if the service interval is only half that long, that’s still a lot of connections. The tools also drives regular deck screws. Street price: $299.

Pros: greater productivity than torque wrenches Cons: you’ve got to buy the tool

Milwaukee PVC Shears Besides speed (it’s easy to cut a piece of 1”diameter PVC conduit every five seconds), the beauty of this tool is that it lets you cut, fit and assemble conduit without getting down from a ladder. There’s no need to saw anything. The sheared edge is also glass-smooth and burr-free. Although this tool can’t cut PVC central vac pipe (it’s too flexible), these shears worked perfectly during my tests on black poly water pipe, PEX, PEX-AL-PEX and even 2” diameter ABS. Uses the same 12-volt lithium-ion battery as all sub-compact Milwaukee cordless tools. Street price: $199.

Pros: much greater efficiency than handsaw or chopsaw Cons: watch your fingers!

Stanley MIG15 Hammer The tag on this 15-ounce steel hammer claims that it hits as hard as a 28-ounce framer, and while I can’t see how any hammer can superscede the laws of motion, inertia and

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physics, the MIG15 is still a pretty good hammer all the same. It’s lighter than traditional framers, but that makes sense these days. I don’t know any builder who drives the bulk of their nails by hand any more, and that’s why framing hammers have become more of a supplemental tool than a workhorse. So why carry and swing a big bruiser when you don’t need to? The MIG15’s got a high-friction, hatchet-style grip and a nail-starting slot and magnet on top.

It feels good when you swing it and the points of the serrated face are sharp enough to actually make a difference.

Street price: $90 Pros: lightweight, inviting grip, reasonable price Cons: metal body not designed for levering nails out sideways

BOSTITCH N62FNK-2 Nailer This 15-gauge air nailer has five features that I’ve never seen in other finishing nailers. First, it operates without need for oil, so there’s no chance of staining raw wood. It also has an onboard LED light to illuminate dark work areas, a button-activated blower to clear sawdust, and a swiveling 16” gauge to find studs from one nail to the next. The N62FNK-2 also comes with four interchangeable nose tips that make it easy to sink nails into just the right spot in bead board, cove, tongue & groove, and 5/16” in from a square edge. This tool is also quite light, weighing in at 4 lbs.

3 oz. or 1890 grams on my scale. Street price: $229.

DeWALT DWX723 I’ve been using the earlier version of this stand–the DW723–since 2001 with great results, and the revised DWX723 solves a few minor problems with the original design. The angled legs lock rigidly enough when open to create an exceptionally solid stance, and the support arms extend horizontally to offer more than 12 feet of total support for wood. Flip-up tops on the end supports swivel upwards to create stops for cutting multiple parts to identical length without measuring. The DWX723 fits most brands of saws, and the rubber feet are secured with screws, eliminating the perennial problem of lost feet on the original design.

Street price: $229.

Pros: exceptionally solid performance; lumber supports flip up to act as length stop Cons: some saws easier to remove from stand than others CC www.canadiancontractor.ca

Stuff We Like.indd 37

Product File to measure the moisture content of wood, masonry and other construction materials and has many practical applications for contractors, woodworkers and homeowners.

This tool can be used to detect moisture damage under tiling and to locate moisture pockets beneath carpet, wood floors and masonry floors. Depending on the application, both pin-andcable and spherical sensor moisture detection methods can be used, and readings are displayed in LCD and LED modes. Visit www.generaltools.com.

Green and sticky DriTac Flooring Products has launched a full line of adhesives and concrete sealers that have been certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) Green Label Plus Program for Indoor Air Quality. The Green Label Plus Program is a voluntary testing program for carpet and adhesive products that is conducted by an independent laboratory and is designed to set strict standards

for low chemical emissions. The Dri-Tac line of Green Label Plus adhesives and sealers all offer zero VOCs and zero solvents and contribute to LEED credits. Visit www.DriTac.com.

Canadian Contractor y August/September 2011

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The Holdback

Green reno consciousness is growing The green renovation industry is alive and well across Canada

By Stephen Dupuis

I

believe that over the next 12-24 months we are going to witness a sea change in the residential renovation industry. We are on the cusp of the greening of the renovation sector as a number of disparate initiatives coalesce into a much more comprehensive whole.

The challenge in advancing the cause of green renovation has to some degree been about where to apply the focus—are we greening the renovator or the renovation? I think we’re all coming to the conclusion that it’s a bit of both, and are starting to get on with initiatives that address one or the other.

The Canadian Home Builders’ Association’s Renovators Council certainly has green renovation on its agenda and, with the help of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), is working on a Green Renovation Guide with a draft due out in the fall. This new document should augment and compliment the earlier Homeowner’s Guide to Green Renovations put out by the Council a couple of years ago.

Out West, the Built Green folks have grabbed the bull by the horns and done a great job building upon the successful homebuilder platform to develop a program for renovators that allows them to choose from a checklist of more than 290 action items that address everything from energy efficiency and water use to material selection and homeowner education.

In Ontario, EnerQuality Corporation is developing a green renovation education and training program that the Greater Toronto local–the Building Industry & Land Development Association (BILD) -will actively market.

At BILD, the Renovators Council has a sub-committee dedicated to exploring and understanding the green renovation market while BILD’s Green Leadership Committee has solid renovator representation and focus. When the BILD Renovation and Custom Building Awards roll around early next year, there will be new categories for green renovation

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and we’re very anxious to highlight the award-winning projects to the public.

Perhaps the biggest and best news of all is the recent renewal of federal funding for the eco ENERGY Retrofit— Homes program. Apart from the obvious benefits of reducing energy consumption, energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions, programs like Eco-ENERGY have the added benefit of ensuring the contracts and payments are all above board so the homeowner can successfully claim the tax rebate at the end of the project. This is a great opportunity for contractors to link lifestyle renovations with green retrofits, and the key is the written contract, which is one of the critical requirements of the national RenoMark™ program.

Contractors across Canada, whether members of a local homebuilders’ association or not, are likely aware of the RenoMark program. The program, which is offered by more than 30 local HBAs in eight provinces, was created to help homeowners find professional renovation contractors and is based on a renovation-specific Code of Conduct. More than 800 contractors across Canada are under the RenoMark umbrella, and that number continues to grow.

Over the years, it has often been suggested that there should be a green dimension to the RenoMark Program. I say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and at this time the plan is to keep the initiatives completely separate. That said, contractors interested in becoming part of the RenoMark program can only tie into the green education, training and potential labeling programs by joining a local association. CC Stephen Dupuis is President and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and can be found on Twitter (twitter.com/bildgta), Facebook (facebook.com/bildgta), Youtube (youtube.com/bildgta) and BILD’s official online blog (bildblogs.ca) www.canadiancontractor.ca

11-08-03 9:23 AM

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