Ideas September 2015

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

CABINETS & CLOSETS

A ROOM WITH

PURPOSE

FALL 2015

ideas

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Just imagine 12

CABINETS & CLOSETS

By David Chilton Saggers

30

WELCOME to FALL IDEAS 2015!

Managing Editor Paul Barker PBarker@bizinfogroup.ca Art Director Carolyn Brimer Contributors Stefan Dubowski Lawrence Cummer

COVER PHOTO: INSTONE DISTRIBUTION

Ideas Fall15 Complete.indd 3

We are excited to bring you the 2015 Fall IDEAS book.

Inside this issue, you will find the best-of-the-best indoor and outdoor products to get you inspired as we say goodbye to summer and hello to fall.

Check out the latest exterior cladding, shingles and roofing, back yard structures, paint styles and colours, energy-efficient windows and more. Learn more about building your dream home with informative features and DIY insights on cabinets and storage solutions, as well as the perfect “purpose-room” aka man/woman cave, home gym or children’s playroom.

Best of all, the products that are here to inspire you in Fall IDEAS are available at your local Castle Building Centres location.

ENJOY!

By Lawrence Cummer

Products in this issue: DECKING DOORS

MOULDINGS PAINT

FAUCETS

RAILINGS

FLOORING

ROOFING

GARAGE DOORS INSULATION

PHOTO

Editorial Director Castle Building Centres Group Ltd. Jennifer Mercieca jmercieca@castle.ca

A ROOM WITH PURPOSE

SIDING WINDOWS

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Are you ready?

With winter just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking of ways to keep your home warm while keeping your heating bill low. Upgrading your windows and doors is one of the best ways to ensure your home remains comfortable year round. New windows and doors will also increase your home’s curb appeal, which can significantly raise your property value.

Reasons to choose JELD-WEN Performance Built to perform, JELD-WEN windows and doors will keep the elements at bay—and save you money—during our cold Canadian winters.

Selection Customize your windows with grilles, brickmould and colour. With hundreds of possible combinations, you can create a look that is truly your own.

Quality Backed with an industry-leading warranty, our products are built with unrivalled strength and durability so you can enjoy every season in comfort.

Design your own window  Bring your plans to life at jeld-wen.ca, then visit your local Castle dealer for more information.

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Sleek and effortlessly modern, Steel-Craft’s Contemporary Series offers the look, feel, and texture of real wood without the maintenance issues.

And unlike real wood, it will not warp, shrink, peel or crack making it ideal for the Canadian climate.

The door’s clean, sharp finish fills a growing demand in the market for designer-inspired products. The Contemporary Series features Steel-Craft’s uncompromising durability and function. This climate-ready insulated steel door has an exterior that won’t require staining or painting.

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CABINETS CLOSETS

&

Every room that you renovate will have distinctly different storage needs.

BY DAVID CHILTON SAGGERS

W

e have all heard about being in the right place at the right time. A similar sort of principle might be said to be at work in bathrooms, kitchens and bedrooms.

That is: how to choose the right cabinet or closet for each of those spaces. Brenda Houle, a designer at Superior Cabinets’ Edmonton office, recommends measuring everything associated with the project at least twice then getting the intended design down on paper.

“You can get graph paper, and there are a lot of places that have computer programs you can follow. You need to see with a certain company’s product what you can get and plan installations out according to the space you have.”

Houle’s design colleague at Superior in Saskatoon, Jade Jabusch, says as well as ensuring the 12 I IDEAS FALL 2015

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PHOTOS: SUPERIOR CABINETS

cabinets or closets will actually fit the space they are meant for, there are building codes to consider.

In addition, for any project that requires plumbing or electrical work Jabusch suggests bringing in a professional contractor.

What comes next after the basics of measuring accurately, designing on paper or on a computer screen exactly what the installation will look like, and ensuring codes and the serious matters of plumbing and electricity are attended to?

Houle says one crucial difference is size. She explains that in a bathroom a vanity is generally 21” deep and kitchen cabinets are generally 32”, although she finds a lot of homeowners use kitchen height but bathroom vanity depth. That is a big difference, Houle says and she recommends other out of the box thinking to achieve exactly the desired effect.

She says she has cabinets behind the toilet in her home that are 8” or 9” deep with non-traditional horizontal flip-up doors on them. “It works and it gives you good storage,” says Houle. “You do not have to use standard items. You can use open shelves, there are lots of things you can use in different ways.”

Stephanie Brown, Sales Manager at Cabinetsmith in Barrie, Ont., points to another difference. She says the question to ask is how much wear and tear is the cabinetry and closet going to take.

Is it a retired couple living by themselves or young parents with children and pets to consider?

“All of that is something that needs to be high on your list before you start looking at anything because you need to make sure your prod-

uct is going to stand up to your lifestyle. I would say that would be universal for all three rooms.”

Specifically, Brown goes on to say that for kitchens, budget, lifestyle and the functionality of the existing kitchen need to be mulled over. Is it going to be a full renovation, she asks, or is the layout all right as it is and the homeowner just going with a reface.

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Just as any architectural critic will tell you form follows function, Brown says it is likely that is the same case with choosing the right cabinetry and closets for bathrooms, kitchens and bedrooms.

A pretty piece of furniture on a bathroom wall may look nice, she continues, but it has got to store bottles of shampoo, tubes of toothpaste and so on or it is effectively useless.

As for the challenge of installing the different items, Brown says it will be difficult no matter what.

DIY fans can do it themselves, but when it comes to a kitchen, say, she points out mistakes could end up costing the homeowner thousands of dollars.

“I would say that the priority needs to be that your new kitchen or your new bathroom or your new closet solves the issues that you had in the old ones,” says Brown.

A further consideration would seem to be the material the new items for the kitchen, the bathroom and the bedroom are made of. MDF seems to be the go-to material. It is resilient, moderately priced and readily available in a huge variety of colours and styles.

Typically the sides are made of particleboard and covered with melamine or veneer and are dimensionally stable; but because doors determine what the project will look like, style choice comes first and material second, although wooden doors would not be a particularly good choice for a bathroom given that moisture will warp the cabinet and cause its joints to swell and contract.

A far better door for bathrooms would be those made of polyester, says Brown.

The polyester is

wrapped around an MDF moulding, rending the doors anti-microbial, far more moisture-resistant than any other door, and also far more heat-resistant.

“The same way you would make a five-piece wood door you make a five-piece polyester door,” Brown explains. “They have been in the market for several years now, but they are just starting to gain traction. They are less expensive than a wood door but not as inexpensive as a thermofoil product.”

All of the benefits of a polyester-wrapped product used in a bathroom would transfer more or less equally well to a kitchen, although personally she would not boil a kettle under a polyester cabinet, Brown says with a laugh. “The door would survive but the edge band in the front of your cabinet might not.”

As for bedroom closets, Brown points out that that room’s environment is far more stable so the material used is less of a concern. All that bedroom closets need to do is work and be pleasing to the eye.

In terms of the touchy subject of homeowners actually installing the cabinets and closets themselves, Houle warns that DIY aficionados should be aware of their skill levels before they tackle a project, and Jabusch goes a step further and recommends that householders align themselves with someone, whether professional or highly skilled amateur, who knows what he or she is doing. Something else for DIYers to consider is the sort of installation they actually enjoy working on, Jabusch notes.

Choosing the right cabinetry and closets for a home’s three major rooms is never easy, and their installation will always be a challenge. However, proper

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planning and a realistic assessment of interest, skill level and the availability of the right tools to complete the work will prove invaluable.

Dealing with awkward spaces You have a small or awkward space in your bathroom or kitchen, or perhaps it is both.

What do you do? Leave it to gather dust and quietly fume every time you notice it? Let fly with a stream of invective when the storage you do have refuses to accept another bottle or shampoo or another casserole dish?

You could do that or you could accept the challenge of converting that bit of wasted real estate into something you can actually use. Of course, this last suggestion is best. So what next? Stepping back and considering the space itself should come first.

Tansley Struthers, a design consultant with Superior Cabinets in Saskatoon, Sask., says to look and see if the proposed change is restricted by any code.

For example, in a bathroom there has to be a certain distance around a toilet, she says, a minimum of 15” from any object to the centre of the toilet. It is the same thing with electrical outlets, she continues. You simply cannot cover them up; they have to be moved.

Once building code requirements have been satisfied Struthers says the next consideration is to determine what exactly is going to occupy the space.

“You definitely need some sort of structure and how it has been put together is important. Depending on what he or she is trying to achieve with their project will be how their material will be determined. If they

are putting anything heavy on it make sure it is actually supported. Some clients will do floating vanities or floating cabinets in entertainment units. They never really think about how much weight is going into those cabinets and how much weight is supported on the wall.”

As for the cabinets themselves, whether for kitchen or bathroom, they are always square or rectangular, says Struthers, so if there is an angle to contend with clients will usually lose some space. Further, she continues, walls are never square, even in new houses, so a cabinet may have to be pulled away from a wall to make sure it is being installed square.

As for the design of a cabinet intended for an awkward space, Struthers explains that will be decided by what is stored in it. That and the doors to the cabinet if the homeowner wants closed storage.

“We can only manufacture square or rectangu-

lar doors, so they will limit you a little bit.”

There is also cost to consider. Cabinetry for any space with angles or curves to overcome is going to be more expensive, and Shahan Fancy, corporate sales development manager at Superior, says angles and curves call for a pro.

“This is probably where it is always good to consult an expert; even if you do not have the intention of buying their product you can pay them hourly to bounce a few ideas around.”

If the space to be filled does not have frustrating angles or curves to overcome, and loadbearing and usage have been allowed for, there is the matter of standard cabinetry itself.

As Fancy says, most DIY enthusiasts have to choose from what is available. Filling that small or awkward space will forever be a compromise, it seems.

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Castlegard products can be found exclusively at your local Castle Building Centres location.

For Castle locations go to castle.ca

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A

ROOM with

PURPOSE

BY LAWRENCE CUMMER

Every specialty room in your home has specialty needs and any renovations you do should consider them. HERE IS HOW.

PHOTO: ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES INC.

Y

ou have decided to take the remodeling plunge and add your dream den, entertainment room, or man or woman “cave.” Maybe it is time for that child’s playroom or a home gym.

Whatever you have in mind, you can take the form and functionality of your purpose-built room to higher level by considering some new building products and building science rules and advances.

BASEMENT BUILDS Basements can be damp, cold and downright unlivable. They can also be unhealthy since they can be prone to excess moisture that can result in mold. Mold

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your basement must be able to breathe so insulation chosen must be air-permeable, which means it needs to let air (and moisture) flow through it to reach the room side and evaporate. If part of your basement is above ground and part below, the

above-grade part needs to be vapour-closed, creating a challenge that advanced products have helped overcome.

New “smart vapour retardants” exist that open up when wet and close once dry, says Lucas Hamil-

PHOTO: OWL DISTRIBUTION INC.

E

is a microscopic organism that requires moisture (like that from a leaking pipe, high humidity, condensation or flooding) and organic material (like ceiling tiles, drywall, paper or carpet fibres) to grow. It can be a health problem.

Moisture resistance: Look for drywall and ceiling tiles designed for high humidity or with mold and mildew resistance. “These are particularly important characteristics in the case of basements,” says Naeem Malik, national sales manager for retail ceilings at Armstrong World Industries.

He says his company’s mid-range and high-end ceiling products feature these resistances.

Hardwood floors are not ideal for basement use because of the moisture, but luxury vinyl flooring tends to be moisture resistant and due to recent improvements in printing and material strength can be made to look and feel much like natural wood or stone products.

Insulation: To fight the cold and save energy dollars basements should be insulated up to building codes. These vary from region to region. Poorly insulated basements act as a heat sink for the entire house.

One area not always considered for insulation is the floor. Today, options like Barricade insulated subfloor panels can add warmth to the floor. These panels provide a layer of insulation worth R-value 3.2, which warms a cold concrete slab up by about 5°C, according to Jeff Morrison, general manager of national building products for Goodfellow Inc. Ventilation: In the fight against moisture

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SOUND AND LIGHT Sound and lighting are crucial in your room. Face it, a media room needs a kill-

er sound system, a “cave” in which family and friends gather around to watch the game is going to get loud and you may or may not want to hear every last noise coming from the children’s playroom.

Consider the movement of sound throughout a room and beyond. “Look at it from the perspective of source, pathway and receiver,” Hamilton says. In particular pay close attention if setting up a media room in the basement. “The high frequencies will be defeated by many of the usual materials we use like insulation and gypsum, but you have to pay attention and disconnect the home’s frame from sources of awesome low-frequency booms.”

The solution once again can be found in insulation. “Unless everyone in the house is up for playing Call of Duty along with you, you have got to insulate the rigid skeleton of the home from those energy waves by not making rigid structural connections somewhere along the pathway,” he says. “This is usually best done between the interior gypsum finishes (the drumhead) and the framing (the drum.) It is like mounting a drum skin over foam.”

A few ratings that can be found on building products to help you navigate and understand the sound and lighting

PHOTOS: ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES INC.

ton, manager of building science applications, CertainTeed Corp. This means you can now choose one type of insulation for your entire basement wall and have it perform correctly above- and below-grade.

Plumbing, electrical and HVAC: Unfinished basement ceilings can be an eyesore of piping and wires especially if you add a home theatre. It can be covered with drywall ceilings, but that area will need to be opened up if a repair or change is needed. A dropped (or suspended) ceiling, like those found in most offices allow the wires, plumbing and duct work to be hidden but accessible.

Improvements in these tiles mean they can possess the same noise-reducing properties as offices, but with more decorative appearances.

This is because the small holes or crevices used to control sound have become smaller allowing for a smoother, sandy appearance or even richer-looking options, Malik says.

He says anyone with general proficiency with tools (hammer, screwdriver, level) and some handiness can install. “It doesn’t take a carpenter.”

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NOISE AND SOUND

BY THE NUMBERS

N

oise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) measures the

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

properties of these products are NRC, CAC, STC and LR (see sidebar).

LR, or light reflectance, can even help in your room’s energy performance. Very high LR products reflect more light, resulting in brighter spaces, lower cost and more balanced light diffusion throughout the room.

Hamilton shares a couple additional considerations based on building science.

Children’s playroom: “These are like media rooms on a sugar high,” he says. “Apply the same principles of source, pathway and receiver. Also, consider using impact resistant gypsum boards for walls.

Home gym: Isolate the sound vibrations from exercise equipment by putting treadmills on rubber pads.

Use impact resistant gypsum boards to reduce repairs. Remember your gym will likely have multiple hard, reflective surfaces and a ceiling with a high NRC can prevent it from becoming an echo chamber.

Windows are another important consideration for a home gym, where possible, to help create the illusion of exercising outside, notes Brad West, director of Canadian sales for Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors. Triple-pane windows will not only be more energy efficient, but block sound from outside. “Also consider ventilation,” he says. “You want to have a

nice cross-breeze for when you work out.”

West adds that interior doors can be affordably replaced with solid-core versions that will better block sound. Pre-hung models will make doors much easier for a DIYer to install.

COLOUR CONSIDERATIONS Colour plays a role in a room’s aesthetics, but also in its performance. Alison Goldman, brand manager for CIL Paints provides insights for purpose-built rooms based on current hot trends and human psychology.

overall sound absorption of the material when used

in an enclosed space where sound is being reflected at many angles. Materials with NRC less than 0.50 are poor, greater than 0.80 are remarkable. A good ceiling tile with NCR 0.60 will absorb 60% of the sound, so reflects 40%.

Ceiling Attenuation Class (CAC) represents the ability for a ceiling system to block sound between rooms. A CAC less than 25 is considered low performance, while greater than 35 is high.

Sound Transmission Class (STC) rates a panel, wall or, ceiling or floor’s ability to block sound at the frequency of the human voice (between 125 and 4000 Hz). Where CAC tests are designed specifically for ceilings, STC numbers are used for any panels, wall, ceiling or floor. Higher blocks better. An STC rating change of +/10 makes the sound half or twice as loud.

Light Reflectance (LR) is a measure of a material’s ability to reflect visible light. The measurement is based on the fraction of light hitting the surface that is reflected. A typical acoustical ceiling has an LR of 0.75, meaning it reflects 75% of the light that hits it.

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The Man/Woman Cave: Goldman suggests grey tones, which are safe and broadly popular, but with a tinge of colour. Popular for creating a feminine escape is a grey with a purplish undertone. “It is fun and appropriate.”

For a man cave she recommends the opposite. “Go completely neutral, flat and neutral, and a bit darker shade that is a little bit more cozy and cave-like.”

A flat paint will create an air of luxury since it absorbs more light and gains a “velvety” look. If in the basement, painting the ceiling will make it cozier, while a white or light ceiling will open it up and make an airier room.

Children’s playrooms: Goldman stresses primary colours for small children while their eyesight is developing. “Babies can only see contrast, but as they grow they distinguish colour in a more sophisticated way.” Do not go overboard on bright reds or blues or you

may over-stimulate your tykes.

Having a floor, ceiling or wall that Consider something “a wee bit emulates a more expensive material softer, and play off the contrast between colours.” and texture is easier than ever before.

Consider dividing walls into multiple colours or shapes (by action, so if you are a reluctant gym-goer use it to give using colour blocking tape) to better engage the chilyou a little bit more energy and stamina to keep going,” dren’s sense of contrast. This can also create zones of says Goldman. use similar to a daycare.

“If you are more like me and you would rather have Use eggshell or satin paint for durability (and ease a space that feels a bit spa-like, pick a pale blue (like a in cleaning) to handle abuse from tiny, messy hands. sky blue) to help feel cool and clean while working out.

“If you have emerging artists, consider using grafAnything that mirrors the outdoors can help you feel fiti resistant coatings on reachable surfaces,” Hamilton more like you are exercising outside, and in Canada we adds. have such a small window to do that.”

Home gym: A well-designed home gym is all Speaking of mirrors, do not forget them. They are about motivation. Look at the colours of professional important in order to open up the space. Here again, gyms for inspiration, and be honest about your needs. multiple colours can be useful. An accent wall of orange “Orange is known to promote energy, creativity and could be used with cool blues on others to great effect.

“Then it just depends on where you are facing.”

Remember that gyms can become dirty. Consider a flat or eggshell, and keep in mind the trim might get a bit more beat up than other rooms.

A lot of new framing materials are stronger and can be more Laundry and mudrooms: Dirt, grime (and efficient than traditional framing lumber, but can often burn mold) can obviously be serious concerns in these rooms. faster. As a result first responders are dealing with collapsing To combat that use paint designed for kitchens and floors during fires, according to Lucas Hamilton, manager of bathrooms that is mold and mildew- resistant. The same applies to a steam room or shower room connected to a building science applications at CertainTeed Corp. Make sure home gym. all exposed material is Class A fire rated. That can be as easy Black is Back: An interesting option for a media as putting up gypsum or ceiling tiles. room or home theatre is Armstrong’s Fine Fissured Textured Tech Black panels. These 2’ x 2’ acoustical ceiling

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tiles are targeted specifically for such use, Malik says.

“It creates contrast just like you would have at the movie theatre.” Of course, it also has sound-proofing like similar acoustical drop ceilings.

Old Fashioned: Ceiling tiles need not be the same colour or even the same materials. One richlooking aesthetic choice is to top the bar area of an entertainment room or man cave with metal ceiling tiles such as Armstrong’s Metallaire. It gives a turn of the 20th century look, Morrison says.

Having a floor, ceiling or wall that emulates a more expensive material and texture is easier than ever before. Vinyl and laminate floors can be printed and embossed convincingly with textures to emulate hardwoods (even reclaimed wood) or natural stone, while maintaining the features (such as moisture-resistance) of the original materials.

For walls, a new option to create the appearance of masonry has come from InStone Distribution based in Edmonton. It can add personality to any specialty room, but is especially useful for man and woman caves. The company found that while faux stone panels existed on the market, they would break down faster in the extreme Alberta temperatures.

Unable to find product to make the grade, the entrepreneurs developed their own option, called QualityStone. Up to 10 times cheaper than real stone, these panels can be installed with DIY carpentry skills.

A side effect of making them resistant to harsh outdoor Canadian weather was that the panels have insulation

PHOTO: INSTONE DISTRIBUTION

FANCY FACADES

properties equal to R-6 insulation, helping control temperature and sound, says Jason Duniec, the firm’s national sales manager.

“For a man or woman cave they are remarkable for acoustics,” he says. “If you have hard laminate flooring and drywall, you are bound to get a lot of sound bouncing around. QualityStone can be used as an accent feature to absorb that sound.”

It also looks good covering the walls of a small wine

room, he adds.

For the look of concrete or barn wood, the company has since developed Hourwall, lightweight interior wall panels also designed for DIY installation. For the environmentally-conscious DIYer seeking a more modern, urban look it has recently developed Wall Flats, three-dimensional panels made entirely from pre-consumer waste, which in this case is discarded sugar cane fibres.

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