Ontario Home Builder - Summer 2013

ohba.ca

summer 2013 | $5.00

the experts Answer Builders’ Top 10 Legal Questions P46

ohba celebrates its golden anniversary

Filling the Gap

Protective Measures

Raising the Roof

What is being done to address the shortage of skilled trades workers?

Preparing for new endangered species legislation

The case for taking wood frame construction higher

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P.42

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PM 42011539

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Table of contents

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42 Columns

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7 One Voice By Joe Vaccaro Marking a milestone 15 Human Capital By Robert Bales Oh rats! Who’s going to pay when your solution is wrong?

17 Marketing By Darryl Orian Maximize your efficiencies between sales and marketing 19 Health & Safety By Jeremy Warning Preparing due diligence for the bad times 21 Technology By Mark Evans A new view of social media-generated sales 86 Outside the Box By Avi Friedman Rethinking garages inside out Departments 9 Ontario Report Sign up for the 2013 Awards of Distinction and annual conference, Green Housing tour, CHBA’s new CEO and Kaneff’s York donation 23 Top Shelf Putting the right tools in your hands 69 Better Building The merits of wrapped laminates, Arriscraft gets interactive, UrbanHippo’s SmartHomes 81 Product Focus Generating great curb appeal www.ohba.ca

features

28 GOLDEN MOMENTS

OHBA REFLECTS ON 50 MEMORABLE YEARS IN ONTARIO

42 PROTECTIVE MEASURES

NEW ENDANGERED SPECIES LEGISLATION IS TAKING FLIGHT

46 THE USUAL SUSPECTS

answering builders’ top 10 LEGAL QUESTIONS

52 WOOD IS GOOD

RAISING THE ROOF ON WOOD-FRAMED BUILDINGS

56 THE APPRENTICES

WHO IS FILLING THE GAP OF SKILLED TRADES WORKERS?

63 OHBA ON PARLIAMENT HILL coming together to advocate at the national level

ontario home builder summer 2013

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The official publication of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association Summer 2013 | Vol. 29 Issue 4

editor

Ted McIntyre, ext. 250 ted@laureloak.ca associate editor

Norma Kimmins, OHBA art director

Erik Mohr graphic designer

Tania Janthur copy editor

Barbara Chambers contributors

Robert Bales, Mark Evans, Avi Friedman, Tracy Hanes, Marc Huminilowycz, Elaine Kapogines, Steve Maxwell, Darryl Orian, Dan O’Reilly, Joe Vaccaro, Jeremy Warning PHOTOGRAPHY Rodney Daw, Kathryn Segal, Dave West PRESIDENT

Wayne Narciso, ext. 240 publisher

Sheryl Humphreys, ext. 245 sheryl@laureloak.ca advertising sales

Tricia Bird, ext. 223 tricia@laureloak.ca Cindy Kaye, ext. 232 cindy@laureloak.ca Published by

Laurel Oak Publishing www.laureloak.ca

www.ohba.ca

info@ohba.ca

Ontario Home Builder is published six times per year (Spring, Renovation, Summer, Fall, Awards, Winter).

All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher © 2013. Single copy price is $5.00. Subscription Rates: Canada $11.95 + HST per year, USA $29.95 USD. Mail payment to: Laurel Oak Publishing 1062 Cooke Blvd., Burlington, ON L7T 4A8 Phone (905) 333-9432 Fax (905) 333-4001 CANADIAN PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 42011539 ISSN No. 1182-1345

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ontario home builder summer 2013

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one voice

Marking a Milestone OHBA volunteers and staff share in 50 successful years

By Joe vaccaro

photo: margaret Mulligan

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association

proudly calls itself a grassroots organization.

This isn’t just a phrase we use; it is reflective of our history and it has played a pivotal role in the 50-year success of the provincial association.

A poll of our 30 local home builder associations revealed that 21 were actually founded prior to 1963, when OHBA was formally organized. Our oldest (and biggest) local, the Toronto home builders, today known as BILD, was founded in 1921. That local along with the other earlier-founded locals have been working diligently on behalf of the residential construction industry and Ontario consumers for many years within their local communities—long before OHBA was even envisioned. They set the foundation for OHBA’s success as a grassroots organization that endures 50 years later.

Certainly, much of the success we enjoy is thanks to our network of volunteers that work tirelessly and diligently on behalf of the association, our industry and our communities.

But let’s also honour the valuable contributions made over these 50 years by our staff members. Whether volunteer, part-time, big or small local, they have contributed positively and professionally to our industry.

Did you know that many of the early executive officers were actually employees of Union Gas, who were ‘loaned out’ to act as the organizers and administrators for local HBAs? In fact, some of those on-loan EOs are still

www.ohba.ca

around today. Clare Curtis of Chatham-Kent HBA just retired, having come on board in 1988 as an employee of Union Gas. Long-time (24 years) Brantford EO Fred DeCator also started out as a loaner, but stayed on after retiring from the gas company.

There have been many long-serving local EOs who contributed so positively to the continuity and strength of OHBA, including retirees Denise Lafond of Sudbury (20 years), Jake Nelson with Quinte (30+ years) and Donna Donaldson with Durham (10 years).

But atop our list we remember David Horton, who served at the helm of OHBA for more than 25 years—half of the association’s life!

He served faithfully under dozens of presidents, endured the up-and-down cycles of the industry and ensured that the organization thrived under his watchful eye. We mourned his death in May 2011 and mourned again when his friend and colleague Stephen Dupuis, the much-admired president and CEO of BILD, died later that year. We lost two great leaders in a short time, but thanks to the foundation they and others before them set, we have carried on with renewed strength and vigour.

My column is not large enough to mention by name all our local and provincial association staff, but they and our association volunteers should be proud of their contributions to our collective success. We all have a lot to remember and be grateful for as we celebrate OHBA’s 50th anniversary this year. OHB

Certainly, much of the success that we enjoy is thanks to our network of volunteers Joe Vaccaro is the COO of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association.

ontario home builder summer 2013

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Ontario Report

Clockwise from top: Green Housing Tour participants enjoyed lunch at the historic Aberfoyle Mill near Guelph; Andy Goyda, owner of the first home labelled under the new ENERGYSTAR for New Homes standard, with John Sloot of Sloot Construction and tour host Andy Oding; the Eastforest Homes team; and Dave Brix is flanked by his Terra View Homes associates. To view more photos visit: www.ohba.ca/galleries.

Green Housing Tour Who would have thought that the most advanced technology in your home would be something you couldn’t even see? That is exactly what the most recent Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) Technology Tour showcased—what some builders are doing to break out of the box and build the next generation of high-tech, energyefficient housing.

On June 5th, participants joined OHBA and EnerQuality on a Green Housing Tour through Kitchener and Guelph hosted by OHBA Technical Chair Andy Oding (Building Knowledge Canada). The tour featured a variety of high-tech, green housing projects, provided valuable education on marketing strategies for green housing and explored technical opportunities available for enhancing energy and water efficiency for new home buyers.

OHBA and EnerQuality thank all the tour participants and builders who featured their projects on this tour. OHBA’s next tour will be a Stacked Housing Tour taking place in Etobicoke on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Visit OHBA.ca for more information.

Highlights Sloot Construction – Hales Manor II (Guelph) Reid’s Heritage Homes – Westminster Woods (Guelph) Eastforest Homes – Doon South (Kitchener) Terra View Homes – Edgewater Estates (Kitchener)

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Awards of Distinction 2013 OHBA’s Awards of Distinction celebration announcing winners of this year’s awards will take place Tuesday, September 24th at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort. It promises to be a glittering, sold-out event, so get your crew together and book your tables early to avoid disappointment. Register now at www.ohba.ca.

ontario home builder summer 2013

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Ontario Report

OHBA 1st Vice-President Eric DenOuden with WSIB Chair Elizabeth Witmer and OHBA President Leith Moore at OHBA offices, where Witmer addressed OHBA’s Board of Directors at its June meeting.

WSIB CHAIR VISITS OHBA Elizabeth Witmer, Chair of the WSIB, recently addressed OHBA’s Board of Directors to bring the association up to date on the status of various issues within the WSIB. She reported that WSIB’s unfunded liability has been reduced by almost $1 billion and that she wants to ensure that the WSIB is fiscally accountable, sustainable and transparent. Witmer thanked OHBA for its continued insight and perspective on improving the services and costs associated with WSIB.

Minto Assists in Net-ZeroEnergy Housing Project Congratulations to builder/developer Minto upon its selection as one of five building partners in Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative (ecoEII), spearheaded by Owens Corning Canada.

Minto will consult with residential experts in building five net-zeroefficiency homes. Research will centre around cost-effectiveness, affordability and the feasibility of building home energy packages that can sell. The project will help advance NRCan’s investigation to build net-zeroenergy homes on a larger scale. Minto has previous experience building netzero-energy homes with Minto’s Inspiration, Canada’s first LEED Platinum home, which was built in 2008. The company’s condominium project, Minto Ampersand, was also designed to achieve net-zero-energy performance.

Net-zero-energy homes are built with energy efficiency designs that reduce energy needs, while adopting renewable energy technologies.

The building ends up consuming equal to or less energy than it produces annually.

“This is an exciting project that builds on our past experience and will inform our product development for the next few years, ensuring that we continue to deliver quality, thoughtfully designed, highly energy-efficient homes for our customers,” says Alison Minato, V.P. of Sustainability at The Minto Group.

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ontario home builder summer 2013

Registration Now Open: Celebrate OHBA’s 50th!

With OHBA celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the fall conference promises to be a memorable, exciting event that you won’t want to miss. You have until September 1st to take advantage of earlybird rates for the 2013 OHBA Annual Conference in Niagara. Join your colleagues at the spectacular Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort from September 22-24 for what promises to be an informative, educational and fun conference co-hosted by OHBA and Niagara HBA. Register now at www.ohba.ca.

OHBA Annual Meeting of Members The Ontario Home Builders’ Association will hold its Annual Meeting of Members at its Annual Conference as follows: DATE: Monday, September 23, 2013 TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

LOCATION: Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort Conference Centre, 6380 Fallsview Boulevard, Niagara Falls, Ontario All members in good standing are invited to attend.

www.ohba.ca

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Kaneff Group President and CEO Ignat Kaneff with York University President Mamdouh Shoukri.

Home Builder Donates $5 million to York University Ignat Kaneff, chairman and CEO of the Toronto-based Kaneff Group of Companies, recently donated $5 million to support the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University. Including past donations, the Kaneff family has now committed almost $8 million to provide the learning environment of the future for students at York.

The research tower at York University has been named the Kaneff Tower in recognition of this commitment and the new building will open in 2015. Dr. Kaneff, who came to Canada in 1951 with little education or money, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by York’s Osgoode Hall Law School in 2010 for his role in building Canadian communities and for his support of access to education.

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CHBA Announces New CEO The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) welcomes Kevin Lee as its new Chief Executive Officer. Kevin comes to the CHBA from the Office of Energy Efficiency at Natural Resources Canada, where, for the past five years, he has been the director of the housing division.

Kevin is a professional engineer with a Master’s degree in Architecture from McGill University, and he has spent the past 25 years of his career working to advance the energy per-

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ontario home builder summer 2013

formance of housing for Canadians. He has also worked in the trades for some years and been an R-2000 builder. Along with his knowledge of the issues faced by the industry, Kevin brings a wealth of housing experience across the public and private sector to the position. He replaces John Kenward, who recently retired after serving as CHBA COO for nearly 30 years.

In a letter to CHBA members, President Deep Shergill publicly thanked Kenward, noting,

“John dedicated himself to the home building industry with exceptional passion, vision and hard work. He had an unwavering commitment to the members of the Association, to promote the interests of the industry so each and every member has the best possible opportunity to prosper in their business. I want to recognize John’s leadership and his contributions to the Association for the past 29 years, and wish him the very best going forward.”

www.ohba.ca

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human capital

Oh, rats!

Who pays when your solution is wrong?

By Robert Bales Owners in an older 48-unit condo have

complained that water is dripping inside the party walls on warm days in February.

The roofing was replaced last year, but the roofer has denied any responsibility.

The property manager thinks the step flashings at the 12 offset party walls (each pair of units is offset front-to-back) weren’t installed properly, if at all. They haven’t hired a consultant, but have given you all the facts and expect you, as an experienced renovator, to provide your expert analysis and a price to repair the problem. One unit owner heard scratching inside the party wall and later saw a rat running along the ABS drainpipe in the basement ceiling, then through the beam pocket in the foundation. There were rat tracks in the snow leading away from the end of the party wall.

So, do you take the easy route and price the job as a flashing repair, then make your money fixing the real problem after the roofs are opened up? What if there’s nothing wrong with the flashings? Who pays to fix the real problem? Your position: “Yeah, www.ohba.ca

but you said it was the flashings!” The condo’s position: “You said you were an experienced reno expert. You should’ve known!”

Lawyers will see contract and tort issues, duties to both the condo and to

It followed the kitchen drain up to the underside of the sink, where it had its fill of potatoes. present and subsequent unit owners, safety or damage to others, as well as possibly pure economic loss—things you don’t want to know about. Claims in this scenario could involve multiple parties, extensive discoveries, expert witnesses, many court applications and long delays getting in and out of court, not to mention legal costs far exceeding the value of the original contract. An owner claiming, “It’s

the principle of the thing!” can appeal for years, and you can’t get out unless you pay the claim and all the costs. So, what to do?

First, it’s your contract, so cap your risks when you prepare the contract. Your biggest financial risk is not that you are wrong and will have to fix the problem; it’s the legal and other costs necessary to defend yourself, as well as—if you are found liable—the costs of the opposing party. All of which may well exceed the amount of the claim. Appoint an arbitrator in the contract, impose a duty on the arbitrator to control the scope, cost and duration of any claims that arise, and allow no appeals. Again, cap your risks!

Second, set up the contract in two stages. First, provide a fixed price for an investigation of the flashings in one unit, and for the repair of all 16 if the flashings are the problem. Second, provide a timeand-materials price to open up the rat woman’s offset party walls to see what is going on, then provide a fixed price if other problems are found—all to be reviewed by an engineer to satisfy the condo that your price is fair and reasonable.

The real problem in this case had nothing to do with roofing. The party walls were designed as a 2”x4” stud wall on a separate plate in adjacent units, blocked apart from the adjacent wall with a double 5/8” gypsum firestop at each floor. But at the offset party walls, this firestop was not installed during construction, leaving a 1-1/8” opening all the way up the wall to the underside of the roof deck. The beam pocket in the basement was not grouted, but filled with fibreglass batts, allowing interior air from the basement into the party wall. A ridge vent turned that wall cavity into a chimney. Condensation at the roof deck dripped down inside the party wall when there was a nice warm thaw in February.

The rat and its tracks provided the clue—the rim boards at the offset party wall extended about one inch beyond the foundation and were open below to the outside, allowing the rat to get into the party wall cavity. It followed the cavity to the beam pocket, then along the kitchen drain up to the underside of the unit owner’s sink, where it had its fill of potatoes in the potato bin. And where rats can go, moist air—and legal claims—will follow. OHB Robert Bales, PEng, PMP, LLB, is an arbitrator and mediator for construction, engineering and commercial claims. adjudicate.ca ontario home builder summer 2013

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Marketing via two methods: having the sales team provide weekly feedback on site traffic and sales lead generation that resulted from past campaigns; and encouraging sales teams to share registration data from sales office visitors, while making sure they are diligently registering those visitors. These quality data will help your marketing team determine where to focus advertising dollars each month.

It will also help the sales team feel more involved in the whole process.

3. Walk a mile in another person’s shoes... so to speak

Two-for-one deal How to maximize efficiencies between sales and marketing

By Darryl Orian Over the past few years, new home

builders and professional renovators have faced several challenges in the marketplace, resulting in increased pressure to reduce operating costs. Part of this fallout has resulted in a “do more with less” mentality. With this in mind, it has become imperative for marketing agencies and sales teams to work harder, smarter and more efficiently. Here are four tips to help them work hand-in-hand: 1. Set up “town hall” meetings

No, I’m not talking about getting together with the neighbours for coffee and tea. A critical part of collaboration is communication. Get your salespeople talking with your marketing team. Set up weekly or monthly meetings with both groups and let them educate each other with respect to their immediate goals and discuss any www.ohba.ca

potential areas of concern. Often, one of the biggest disconnects between the two teams is marketing’s long-term goals versus sales’ short-term goals. Is sales concerned that all this money going into advertising to build your brand won’t generate customers? Does marketing feel that creating a successful image today will pay off tomorrow? By facilitating open communication between the two teams, your firm can maximize efficiencies by getting both teams to align their goals.

2. Let the numbers do the talking

Does marketing have a gut feeling that a particular campaign will put your brand on the map? That’s all fine and good, but these are your hard-earned profits at risk.

A good marketing team will look for feedback on the effectiveness of a campaign

If you want your marketing team and sales teams to work together, they need to understand each other. So encourage your marketing team to spend some time in a sales office so they can see how a typical deal comes together, as well as experience firsthand some of the objections, suggestions and concerns potential purchasers may have. Further, allow lead members of your sales teams to sit in on some of your marketing meetings where you discuss the overall vision for the company and where corporate marketing initiatives will be taking you. It’s a great way to gauge how the market actually views the company and provides direction on what steps need to be taken to achieve the desired positioning. Actions like these will help make sales and marketing feel like they are fighting the same battle.

4. Lead from the top down

If you want your people all rowing in the same direction, you have to set an example from the top down. Upper management must ensure that everyone in the organization buys into this notion of alignment in order to create an environment of communication that will balance growing the brand with increasing actual sales. You can also help sales learn about your larger corporate picture, and make sure marketing is always aware what’s happening in a sales office. In the end, this will lead to better allocation of resources, advertising dollars and a unified team that is moving together toward a common goal—growing your brand and increasing your sales! OHB Darryl Orian is the director of client services at PM Design + Marketing in Toronto. pm-design.ca ontario home builder summer 2013

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Health & Safety be available when needed. Difficulties can also arise if the documents aren’t legible or if the information is not readily understood by people other than the author.

Retention

All of these efforts are significantly undermined if the documentation is not saved properly. In addition, OHS regulators, such as the Ministry of Labour, expect that organizations will be able to produce documentation relating to health and safety—particularly in relation to training. As such, the retention of documents enhances the ability to demonstrate both due diligence and compliance with health and safety obligations.

Best practices for effective documentation

Due diligence

How to be prepared if something goes wrong

By Jeremy Warning It is commonly understood that a party charged under the Occupational

Health and Safety Act can avoid liability by proving due diligence: all reasonable care to avoid the alleged contravention.

In that regard, due diligence can be considered an explanation. It is a story that excuses behaviour that might otherwise lead to punishment. Consequently, the more detail and information that can be provided, the more compelling the explanation can become. The opposite is also true. For those reasons, having an effective system to document positive due diligence efforts is key to providing a detailed explanation should the need arise. What follows is a brief discussion of three key characteristics of effective documentation and some best practices in documenting positive due diligence behaviour.

Consistency

In order to establish due diligence, it must be shown that all reasonable care was www.ohba.ca

taken. The challenge is that the particular circumstances will not be known until it becomes time to prove due diligence— following a serious workplace accident, for instance. As such, the significance of a particular positive step—the worker orientation, safety meeting, corrective instruction/discipline, workplace inspection or on-the-job training—will likely not be apparent at the time it occurs.

Hence the need for consistent and comprehensive documentation of all steps.

Usefulness

Because showing due diligence may require the demonstration of a pattern or system of conduct over time, the effort in doing so could be for naught if the documentation that is created is not readily useable. Detail is important because the events recorded may have taken place a long time before the documentation is needed. Memories fade over time and the person who created the document may not

Supervisor Logs: Some of the best and most positive information can come from supervisors who may be monitoring work activity, providing corrective action or addressing health and safety issues raised by workers, so have supervisors keep a log of their activities. It will assist both the organization and the supervisor in providing detailed information about the positive steps you’ve taken.

Relevant Details: Note details that add context to the positive steps, such as adding information to workplace forms and checklists, including the length and specific content of training or instruction; the specific areas or activities reviewed during a workplace inspection; and the health and safety issues arising from such an inspection and the steps taken to address them.

Document for Someone Else: Approach documentation as though it will need to be understood by someone other than the author. It should be legible and not contain shorthand or abbreviations that are particular to the author or a departure from typical terms or expressions in the workplace. After all, should due diligence need to be demonstrated, the documentation may need to be understood by other members of the organization, the Ministry of Labour, lawyers and the courts. OHB Jeremy Warning is a partner in the Labour and Employment Law Group at Heenan Blaikie LLP in Toronto. He is a former OHS prosecutor and a member of the firm’s National OHS and Workers’ Compensation practice group. ontario home builder summer 2013

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technology

Time to link in

Adopting a new view on social mediagenerated sales

By Mark Evans While social media has rumbled into

the mainstream in recent years, one of the more interesting angles has been the notion that it should not be used as a platform for sales. Instead, the idea suggests, social media should be a place to engage with potential and existing customers, establish and nurture relationships, provide customer service and build brand awareness. Social media is also seen as a good way to share content that provides value and, in theory, drives inbound leads.

Using social media to drive sales, on the other hand, has been regarded as bad or offside. If, for example, a company is being blatant about encouraging people to make purchases, they are often seen as not following best practices. In short, social media is about “soft” sales.

However, there appears to be a shift in thinking as more companies look to measure the ROI of their social media activities.

These companies are trying to get a handle on how social media is impacting the botwww.ohba.ca

tom line, and how it compares with other marketing efforts. As a result, many companies are now thinking that social media can and should be used to promote sales, along with engagement, customer service, content delivery and brand building.

For companies looking for validation about using social media as a sales tool, a recent report by social sales specialist Jim Keenan provides valuable insight. In a survey, Keenan found that 78.6% of salespeople using social media outperformed salespeople who didn’t use social media. The report also discovered that social media users were 23% more successful in surpassing their sales quotes than salespeople who didn’t use social media. Further, 54% of respondents who used social media correlated it to closing at least one sale, and more than 40% said two to five sales were attributed to their social media activity.

For salespeople and the companies that employ them, the report should be eye-opening, because it shows how social

media can be a valuable and effective sales channel. As well, it suggests consumers may be open to—or at least becoming accustomed to—sales pitches or offers on social media, as opposed to instantly rejecting any companies that tried to push products and services.

So what kind of social media services are being used to drive sales? Keenan said the most popular services are LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, blogs and Google+. While social media may, in fact, be a good tool for salespeople, it is important to remember that it’s not simply a way to broadcast deals or offers. Like non-social sales channels, there has to be relationship-building, conversations and lead-nurturing before an actual sale can materialize. For those who embrace social media and leverage best practices, social media can be a new and different place to access people and markets that otherwise would be difficult, if not impossible, to pursue. If used well, it can create a new sales funnel and, as importantly, build relationships with people using tools that encourage engagement.

One of the keys in employing such techniques for sales is recognizing where to participate. For many salespeople, LinkedIn may be the best place because it is the “professional” network. In particular, LinkedIn groups may be fertile ground to nurture sales leads since they are focused on a particular niche, interest or sector.

Twitter also has good potential because it is easy to publish value-added content and engage in real-time conversations. Salespeople can also monitor Twitter for particular keywords to identify opportunities and then connect with people directly.

Facebook can be hit or miss, depending on the kind of products being sold, while the jury is still out on Google+, although its Hangouts feature is gaining traction as a place to hold online meetings.

For salespeople already using social media, Keenan’s report should encourage them to perhaps be more aggressive in their sales pursuits. For those not using social media, the time has come to jump on the bandwagon.

Link to the report at http://info.asalesguyconsulting.com/social-media-andsales-quota-attainment. OHB Mark Evans is a startup marketer who offers strategic and tactical services. markevans.ca ontario home builder summer 2013

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ace Idea Pllders i for Buv ators o n e R &

top shelf

Chilling out

Goodman’s central air conditioners feature a SmartCoil 5mm condenser coil that optimizes the heat transfer properties of R-410A refrigerant. The company also provides an array of complementary indoor air quality components, including products and systems for air filtration, ventilation, humidification and UV purification. goodmanmfg.com

Let the sun shine brighter

Distributed by Sun-Brite Drapery, Invisible Screen’s hot-selling retractable screen door is almost invisible to the eye and is a great solar barrier. When not in use, it retracts into a discreet housing to provide easy entry and longer screen life. Guaranteed for life, its “No Slam” speed-reducer technology prevents it from banging shut for a higher level of safety for children and pets. www.sunbritedrapery.com

bundling peace of mind

Look, ma! No laces!

Reliance Home Comfort now offers Rental HVAC Bundles, which provide homeowners with peace of mind, knowing that service and repair are covered for life. Reliance has offered bundled rental packages since 2003, but the option is catching on with a growing number of home builders. Customized bundles means there are no repair bills to worry about. All equipment repairs, parts and labour are included for the life of the rental equipment.

More durable than most heavy clunkers, Blundstone’s snug-fitting Greenpatch pull-on, kick-off boots feature added cushioning, Kevlar CSAapproved protection, lighter and more flexible midsoles, soles that are heat, slip, acid, oil and electric shock resistant, and weatherproof elastic and leather to keep your feet dry and allow them to breathe. blundstone.ca

reliancehomecomfort.com

www.ohba.ca

ontario home builder summer 2013

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top shelf

Multi-tasking

Irwin Tools simplifies the oftenfrustrating and time-consuming procedure of switching drill bits with its Multi-Material line, each of which is capable of drilling through varying types of materials, from backer board, subfloors and concrete slab to kitchen backsplash tiles, drywall and wood studs. irwin.com

Taking the pressure off

Part of Woodford’s line of freezeless wall faucets, the anti-siphonprotected Model 19 features a powder-coated, die-castaluminum oval handle, as well as the company’s patented, resetting, anti-burst pressure relief valve.

CSA- and cUPC-approved, each is sold with a limited five-year warranty against defects in material and workmanship. In addition, Woodford will pay up to $5,000 toward the cost to repair damages incurred as a result of a defective model. woodfordmfg.com

A higher calibre of cellular PVC

Vi-Lux Mouldings’ products are extruded with a solid surface skin that is both smooth and hard. This results in attractive millwork that is hard and durable.

Vi-Lux now offers all of its exterior mouldings with a factory finished VI-GUARD coating, which carries a 10-year warranty against UV discolouration, but may be repainted when desired using acrylic latex or oil-based paint. vi-lux.com

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ontario home builder summer 2013

You can bank on it

RBC clients have the security of dealing with one of the world’s leading diversified financial services companies. When builders work with one of RBC’s builder sales managers, homebuyers can benefit as well. Builders are also teamed with dedicated mortgage specialists, who work on site so they are available to handle the purchasers’ mortgage needs. The mortgage specialists ensure that buyers have all of the documentation and paperwork ready on time to close the sale. Mortgage financing may also be available for upgrades—the things your clients need to make their house a home. Advice and guidance from RBC advisors can help you and your clients save time, money and worry. Personal lending products and residential mortgages are provided by Royal Bank of Canada and are subject to its standard lending criteria. rbcroyalbank.com/mortgages

www.ohba.ca

TM

Helping builders design and build more energy efficient homes.

New building codes require new approaches to housing design and energy performance. Enbridge’s Savings

by Design program is here to help. The program offers free access to design and technical experts, as well as valuable incentives to help design and build more energy efficient homes.

Using our unique and collaborative Integrated Design Process (IDP), we will work with you to identify optimal solutions for improving energy efficiency 25% beyond Ontario Building Code 2012.

To learn more, visit www.savingsbydesign.ca

top shelf Drawing a new line on drains

Infinity Drain has collaborated with modern design master Marc Newson to create a stylish new line of shower drains.

Working with standard North American shower installation techniques, this linear drain can be placed along the shower wall or entrance, allowing for virtually any type of flooring material. infinitydrain.com/dealer.html

adding fuel to the fire

Milwaukee continues to expand the recently launched M12 FUEL line with the introduction of the new 5/8” SDS Plus Rotary Hammer.

Providing up to 2X more run-time, up to Looks real 75% more speed and the largest SDS Plus bit capacity in its class, it combines Weighing just a fraction of the exclusive Powerstate brushless motor, Redlithium battery pack and natural stone but providing the Redlink Plus intelligence to deliver same coverage, Stone Selex’s artifia 12V rotary hammer that rivals compact 18V tools on the market cial stone veneers eliminate the need today. milwaukeetool.com

for structural reinforcing such as special footings or foundations, making for easy installation on any stable wall surface, including concrete, brick, plywood or drywall. It also makes it easier and less costly to transport. stoneselex.com No staining required!

Best foot forward

Providing a quick, comfortable, hands-free, step-in and step-out fit over safety footwear, Thunder Bay-manufactured Yuleys prevent slips and falls, but also enable contractors to protect clients’ indoor flooring from dirt, rain, snow and other debris. Built to last, Yuleys are an environmentally friendly and cost-conscious alternative to plastic booties for site visits, and can be cleaned under running water.

The preservative technology of the new MicroPro Sienna pressure-treated wood offers the look of cedar at a reduced cost.

An industry first in Canada, the technology infuses a warm, cedar tone into treated wood that enhances the wood’s natural grain. The result is a handsome, durable product that has been awarded GREENGUARD Children and Schools Certification for use in sensitive environments. microprosienna.com

yuleysfootwear.com

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ontario home builder summer 2013

www.ohba.ca

Just another case of window envy.

With good looks and available state-of-the-art features like our leak-free V-Weld technology, it’s no wonder our windows attract attention. A variety of styles and price points ensures that we have the right fit for any project. Next time you’re building, choose our Canadian-made windows and doors to take full advantage of our commitment to ontime delivery and after-sales support. Just don’t be surprised if the job site attracts some attention.

Visit allweatherwindows.com to learn more.

years

In the beginning While it has become a driving force of the provincial economy, OHBA came from humble beginnings

By Ted McIntyre

years

The year was 1963. Cost for a week’s food for a family of four was $25, gas was sold at 35 cents a gallon and the average price of a typical Ottawa home was $16,549. But money was becoming increasingly harder to come by. Mired in an economic recession, which had resulted in the devaluation of the Canadian dollar, massive unemployment and the subsequent replacement of John Diefenbaker’s Federal Conservatives with the Lester B. Pearson Liberals, an Ontario task force had begun to delve into housing conditions in the province. Headed up by Ken Soble, owner of CHCH-TV in Hamilton, that task force was the most blatant example of a growing movement to decentralize delivery of housing programs across the country. The Federal Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation was no longer going to be the lone decision maker, and builders were now recognizing that a strong national builders’ association was not enough.

A group representing 10 of Ontario’s local associations met with representatives from the national body in Kitchener at the now-defunct Evergreen’s Motel, where they elected Eric Johnson to serve as their first chairman, with the Canadian association agreeing to provide support staff. The first item of business was to name representatives to the Soble task force, although the greater purpose was to give residential builders a voice in the provincial government, facilitate changes in the industry and provide networking opportunities for home building businesses, suppliers and services.

While OHBA was less prominent in the beginning, operating in the shadows of both the national body and the Toronto Home Builders’ Association, early OHBA presidents gradually helped grow membership and awareness. By 1972, the time had come for the association’s first independent annual conference, which www.ohba.ca

returned to the Evergreen’s Motel in Kitchener that fall. The city had just launched its now annual Oktoberfest celebrations, which helped attract delegates to the conference. OHBA’s annual conference was held in Kitchener again in 1973 and ’74, before moving to the newly completed Harbour Castle Hilton in Toronto in 1975.

Today, OHBA is comprised of an executive committee, board of directors and nine different dynamic committees and councils, representing 30 local associations and 4,000 member companies across the province. When the association’s 16th president, Colin Parsons, was presented with his lifetime achievement award in Niagara Falls 2010, he couldn’t help but marvel as OHBA’s remarkable transformation since his term in office 30 years ago.

“I was absolutely amazed at the strength, vitality and the support of the organization,” Parsons recalls. “Certainly much different from my day!” ontario home builder summer 2013

29

years

Presidential Addresses 10 OHBA leaders reflect on their most lasting memories and accomplishments

By Ted McIntyre

Since the founding of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association 50 years ago, 46 men have held the presidential post, each navigating a unique course of impediments in helping shape the future of both their association and the province’s ever-evolving home building industry. Nine former presidents (and OHBA’s current leader) share their most indelible memories below.

HAROLD FREURE

COLIN PARSONS

(1972/1973)

(1982-1983)

“The challenges during my presidency were not that different than they are today—fighting rising land, development and service charges. I remember when I built my first homes around 1957. I bought five lots and paid $500 per lot—serviced—and sold the houses for $10,900. The land cost was 5% of the house.

Today our land costs are closer to 40%.

My presidency gave me the opportunity to meet and learn from fellow competitors and leaders of the industry. One fond memory is going to meetings in Ottawa in 1972 and sitting down with (Minister of Northern Development) Jean Chrétien and (Prime Minister) Pierre Trudeau!”

“I became OHBA president because I wanted to contribute more to our industry and felt OHBA had to be boosted so that it carried more weight. It helped that I was also president of Monarch as people knew its reputation and were eager to join the flag.

During my presidency, I got to know a lot more about provincial politics and members of the industry. I realized how important the housing industry was to the province by spreading the net of employment and good design and future growth of communities. I would certainly encourage people to get involved in the board and the executive, subject, of course, to them realizing that their job comes first. But a busy man can always cram in something worthwhile.”

who started it all...

30

Local Association

Founded

ontario home builder summer 2013

BILD

1921

Bluewater

2012

Brantford

1953

Chatham-Kent

1959

www.ohba.ca

years

TOM COCHREN

HUGH HERON

(1986-1987)

(1987-1988)

“During my term we were promoting ourselves as the engine of the economy—the impact we made and the jobs we created. It was kind of an awakening of the persona of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association. I also made it part of my mandate to get around and visit as many of the local associations as possible.

It was a time when the industry was really growing, and there were challenges because of that growth, particularly the warranty program. There wasn’t enough labour available and things were getting rushed. But much better consumer protection came as a result.

My presidency taught me how to delegate and trust people since I couldn’t be around my own company all the time. You have to get outside your own little world if you’re going to grow beyond your own informal education. Members are always willing to share their knowledge and experiences with other members, and you probably learn more in the hallways than in the actual sessions. It was empowering to me, because afterward there was no construction problem that I didn’t know of someone who could help me solve the problem.”

“Some of the biggest issues I faced during my presidency were members building unregistered homes. The problems with Queen’s Park were probably not any easier than they are today, but I think our relationships with the Ministers were more hands-on.

I remember Housing Minister Chaviva Hosek giving a luncheon speech where she brought out a hammer saying she had heard Heron had been hammering her at the opening breakfast. However, one of the biggest issues was internal, where Toronto would attempt to take the lead on a problem and make presentations to Queen’s Park—such a waste of time, as the politicians outside of Toronto would never be onside. This problem disappeared when David Horton and Stephen Dupuis came onto the scene. They both understood the strengths of both associations. If the industry speaks at Queen’s Park the lead would come from OHBA, with strong support from Toronto and the rest of the province.

I am part of a great industry and I probably got more out of my being president than I put in. I was also lucky to be exposed to Queen’s Park as a representative of the industry. Being connected to no party made life easy for me in dealing with Queen’s Park and I was also able to get the industry’s story on the front pages of the newspapers without any concerns of what some members might think.”

AL LIBFELD

(1990-1991)

Hugh Heron makes his case with then Premier David Peterson in 1988.

“My path to becoming OHBA president began when Frank Giannone, asked me to be BILD’s representative on the OHBA board.

In an effort to get a running start, I met the late David Horton for lunch to get the lowdown on the current issues and the board politics. After my first board meeting I was pulled aside by the president, Alido DiIorio and was offered the position of 2nd vice.

An opening arose due to someone moving forward, and based on my credentials and the lunch with David they offered me the position. I was in the right place at the right time!

The largest issue during my term was the education levy.

Greater Dufferin

Durham Region

Grey-Bruce

Guelph & District

Haldimand-Norfolk

Haliburton County

Hamilton-Halton

Kingston-Frontenac

Lanark-Leeds

London

1953 1991 www.ohba.ca

1951

1942

1960 1954

1961

1991

1984/85 1952

ontario home builder summer 2013

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years

Former Ontario Premier Mike Harris with OHBA President Dick Brouwer.

As 1st vice-president, we surveyed all the candidates around the province to determine their positions on various issues affecting the building industry. The response from Bob Rae said something about the education levy being a tax grab by the Liberals. So when the NDP got into office and continued with the Liberals’ education levy, OHBA went to war. I travelled the province extensively and was part of hundreds of articles and TV and radio feeds where I tried to hang the NDP on the Premier’s words. I learned that Dave Cooke, the minister in charge of housing, was getting my words and pictures on the top of his press clippings each week.

In the meantime, a lawsuit was working its way through the courts, effectively stopping the implementation of the levy for years and saving the industry and its consumers hundreds of millions. Finally, after six months, Mr. Cooke offered to make a deal. The courts would decide the outcome of the education levy several years later, but the NDP would leave us alone, if we left them alone.”

PHIL McCOLEMAN

(1992-93)

“I got involved in the Brantford Home Builders’ Association and began taking an interest in the industry affairs in early 1980s. I took great interest in advocating not only for my own company’s interests but the overall construction and home builder industry in terms of

legislation. The departing Liberal government had brought in lot levies, which we now know as development charges. We fought the provincial government in court and won the first round and staved them off for two years. We knew it wasn’t a permanent situation, but we accomplished our goal.

Frankly, since my days of lobbying for the building industry in the 1980s and ’90s, legislators are too often doing the exact opposite of what they say they will do to get themselves elected.

It was one of the motivations for me to get into politics. Leading 3,200 different companies at the time taught me how divergent opinions need to be put on the table—from the GTA powerhouse to rural companies—and then a common strategy be developed from those opinions. I bring that experience with me every day to work as a federal legislator.”

DICK BROUWER

(1999-2000)

“I was first president of the London Home Builders’ Association in 1995/96. During this time I was also a member of the OHBA Membership Committee and I thought the OHBA could use a leader like me who was set in his ways. The late Mr. Horton, who taught me a lot, was a great supporter.

On many occasions when I had a strong opinion about a subject, he told me to sleep on it for a night and see if I still felt the same the next day. He was usually correct. He was pleased he could still teach a stubborn Dutchman some new tricks!

I’ve always believed that you should give back to the industry that has served you well, and I had no hesitation to take a year off from my businesses and give some of my time back to the association. I had a great executive committee who supported me all the way. As a very opinionated individual I’m sure that, from time to time, I might have come across somewhat strong, but always with the best intentions in making sure that OHBA’s voice was heard. My experience as president has made me more confident in dealing with politicians and business people in general. It gave me the opportunity to learn more about how politics work and that as long as you are honest with yourself and with the people you deal with, you can get a lot done.”

Niagara

North Bay and District

Greater Ottawa

Peterborough & The Kawarthas

Quinte

Renfrew County

St. Thomas-Elgin

Sarnia-Lambton

Saugeen

Seaway Valley

1955 1991 32

1959

1962

ontario home builder summer 2013

1988

1950s

1956

1992

1959 early 1960s www.ohba.ca

years

OHBA President Brian Johnston with former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

BRIAN JOHNSTON

(2006-2007)

During my term, there were many issues, but some of the most pressing were municipal red tape, mandatory sprinklers, builder education and illegal building. On the horizon was the harmonization of Ontario retail sales taxes and federal GST. By the time it arrived, Frank Giannone was carrying the can, but OHBA was well prepared to address its negative impacts on our industry.

Being president presented me with a whole new world of bright, energetic, passionate and engaged people. Many close friendships have formed as a result of my involvement at OHBA and, of course, I formed a close friendship with David Horton— someone who had a tremendous impact on all OHBA presidents.”

DOUG TARRY

(2011-2012)

“As far as joining the OHBA board goes, OHBA President James Bazely (2009-2010) did the dirty work of twisting my arm, but I think David Horton was the puppet master, and I say that with great affection. I am very proud to have been the last OHBA president that David encouraged to serve.

As it was a transitional year, there were many key issues that we had to deal with: Joe Vaccaro succeeding David Horton; the sudden loss of BILD President and CEO Stephen Dupuis; the Humanitarian Build, an Ontario Building Code cycle; managing the SB-12 implementation; and the ongoing work on the transformation of CHBA. Working with staff, the

Simcoe County

1953

Stratford & Area

1987

Sudbury & District

1959

executive and the board on a variety of initiatives kept me very busy, but a highlight was the introduction of the Builder Education program that was ultimately launched under Leith Moore’s presidency. Initiating the ‘Locals First’ program and visiting over 20 locals over the past two years has been a significant contribution to ensure we hear the voice of our members. I am really proud of that.

One of the highlights of my presidency was initiating the ‘Day on the Hill’ in Ottawa. There are so many interesting and dynamic people involved with our industry and I gained so many friends and contacts across Ontario and Canada.”

LEITH MOORE

(2012-2013)

“As I was completing my term as the BILD Chair I was asked by Bob Finnigan to serve on the OHBA executive. Working with the OHBA Executive and Board, you can really see the passion of our industry across Ontario. When Joe Vaccaro succeeded David Horton at OHBA, we had a conversation about the next evolution of OHBA and that, combined with knowing the executive team and board, is all it took to get me to commit to serve as OHBA President.

Obviously OHBA was in transition. With David retiring and passing, and Stephen’s unexpected passing at BILD, they found themselves in transition, so the key organizational issue was to keep things moving forward and building from the work Past President Doug Tarry had started with the ‘Locals First’ initiative. Building from that, we had a provincial election with a minority government, the retiring of the Premier, the party election of a new Premier and a new set of Ministers. All this transition and uncertainly really forced us to work on improving our communications to our local HBAs and our members so that they didn’t feel disconnected from everything that was happening.

I’m a delegator, so I believe in a cabinet system where everyone on the executive takes on a role. Watching members of the executive take on specific projects and move them forward has been great, be it CHBA restructuring or bringing on new OHBA locals.

The same goes with seeing staff take on leadership work and showcase their expertise so that members can see the value in the professional staff we have to support the issues we need to work on as an industry. I know the next generation of OHBA leadership is ready to take over and keep things moving forward—not that I’m going anywhere, because OHBA keeps assigning me new files.”

Thunder Bay *

1959

Waterloo Region

1946

Greater Windsor

1953

*formerly Lakehead House Builders

www.ohba.ca

ontario home builder summer 2013

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years

years

Above, HUDAC’s first chairman Ernest Assaly (in dark suit); (top right) former Ontario Premier Bill Davis presents the first HUDAC warranty certificate; (bottom right) Assaly and former ONHWP chair Reg Ryan.

To Serve & Protect: The origins of TARION lthough new home warranty programs had been discussed for years at the national level, a lack of unanimous support had kept them off the books as of the mid-1970s. But Ontario became the first to take the lead when it reached a breaking point in the fall of 1975.

“I was a member of the board of the Toronto Home Builders’ Association and half a dozen of the biggest builders in Ontario were called into a private meeting by Premier Bill Davis,” recalls Colin Parsons, then the president of Monarch Homes and future OHBA President. “The Premier said, ‘Gentlemen, there is a problem in the most noble city of Brampton that I am sure you have all heard of. My problem is your problem and I will leave you to solve it.’

“Legislation was very loose in those days and a 10-storey condominium project in Brampton had a builder who wasn’t putting any of the money into trust but instead was putting it directly into his building costs. I don’t think he had a mortgage either,” Parsons relates. “He didn’t finish some units and started letting in some people on the lower floors to take occupancy, and they couldn’t get title.”

The developer absconded with the cash deposits put down by the 85 buyers, some of whom were friends of the Premier.

“So those of us in the room strongly supported the formation 34

ontario home builder summer 2013

of an Ontario warranty program,” Parsons notes. “It brought in much more stringent rules. An expert was brought in from the U.K. to advise on the design of the program. It provided a great foundation and ensured that house purchasers would not be not maltreated by developers. We decided that this had to be paid for by builders from all around the province by way of a union registration fee. OHBA played a big part in the warranty’s creation.”

By July 1, 1976, the province’s new warranty program, called HUDAC, was in effect. Now known as Tarion Warranty Corporation, it remains a private, not-for-profit program, responsible for protecting the rights of new home buyers and regulating and licensing new home builders. It administers the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act and regulations. Updated from time to time, they outline the warranty protection that new home purchasers are entitled to in Ontario, educate new home buyers about their warranty rights and investigate illegal building practices.

Tarion receives no government funding and is financed entirely by fees collected for builder registration and renewal and new home enrollments.

The corporation further evolved in 2008 with the introduction of the New Home Buyer Ombudsperson Office, an independent, impartial and confidential department that promotes and protects fairness within Tarion. www.ohba.ca

Enhancing curb appeal since 1871

BramptonBrick.com

1.800.GO.BRICK

years

Canada’s community blueprint As the country’s first planned

neighbourhood, Don Mills introduced a social fabric for future developments from coast to coast An Ontario Heritage Trust plaque, posted at the northeast corner of Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue East, reads, “Don Mills was planned as a model

Did You Know?

35% * In 2010, there were 35% more homes in Ontario than in 1990, but emissions of greenhouse gases from all houses fell by 6% over that span.

36

ontario home builder summer 2013

town that would humanize urban life in an age of industry and the automobile.”

The concept seems self-evident today—that neighbourhoods would be planned and developed as a complete entity, with public parks, schools, churches and industry carefully mapped out in advance. But up until brewery magnate E.P. Taylor unveiled his master plan for Don Mills in 1953, apartments and houses were pretty much added piecemeal, sprawling ever further from the Toronto city core. Taylor, however, conceived of something more—a place where people of mixed incomes and backgrounds could coexist. Of course, he was also a shrewd businessman and appreciated the timing of a market laden with a pent-up, postwar demand for housing.

So instead of using his Don Mills land to build another brewery, Taylor, with additional financing from James Dunkin and George Bleck, hired Port Credit native and Harvard graduate Macklin Han-

Initial reaction wasn’t exactly positive. North York’s planning department said the concept was “preposterous.” cock to lay out a plan for an 850-hectare site that would provide mixed-income housing for 30,000 people and work for 25,000.

Hancock’s design included four quadrants, at the heart of which were a range of businesses and a shopping centre. In the middle of each quadrant was an elementary school, each within easy walking distance of any neighbourhood home.

A slight majority of the housing included affordable apartments of varying sizes, www.ohba.ca

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but there well also 53 modern home designs. Pedestrian paths and culde-sacs helped separate pedestrian and vehicle traffic, while more than 11% of the land was set aside for a green space, tying in the four neighbourhoods and further increasing the sense of harmony and community within the development.

Initial reaction wasn’t exactly positive. North York’s planning department said the concept was “preposterous.” Advance media coverage was similarly cynical. But homes were quickly gobbled up moments after the first house went up on Jocelyn Crescent in October 1953. Inspired by the Don Mills design, other suburbs quickly followed. So did the accolades, with the community design garnering three Massey Silver Medals and five national and 18 regional Canadian design awards.

As for Hancock, his firm, Project Planning, would go on to design Expo ’67, Ontario Place and the Beijing Complex, among other major projects.

And as for the concept itself, Don Mills introduced planners to a new approach to urban development that sought to build, not just a places to live, but thriving, self-subsisting communities.

Did You Know?

2.71.9 * The average number of children per family decreased from 2.7 in 1963 to 1.9 in 2011. During the same period, the average number of people per family declined from 3.9 in 1963 to 2.9 in 2011.

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ontario home builder summer 2013

years

Buying in to the future:

CMHC

The influx of returning soldiers

from WWII and the postwar baby boom that resulted combined to create a dramatic need for new housing throughout North America. Just as it had spurred the creation and growth of such groups as the Hamilton Halton Home Builders’ Association (1942), so too did it trigger the establishment of the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation on Jan. 1, 1946 (changed to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in 1979).

The agency has since grown into a major national institution and is the country’s premier provider of mortgage loan insurance, mortgage-backed securities, housing policy and programs, and housing research.

CMHC’s basic functions were to administer both the National Housing Act (introduced in 1944, it consolidated all housing legislation and gave the federal government a leading role in housing programs) and the Home Improvement Loans Guarantee Act. Its mandate was also to provide discounting facilities for loan and mortgage companies. Corporate capital was set at $25 million (a substantial amount at the time), and a reserve fund of $5 million was authorized to be accumulated from profits. This requirement and capital structure are still in effect today.

Toward the end of the 1940s, the federal government embarked on a program of much-needed social and rental housing, creating a federal-provincial public housing program for low-income families, with costs and subsidies shared 75% by the federal government and 25% by the province.

CHMC’s other early work included the

1948 publishing of 67 Homes for Canadians, which was among the most influential house plan books of the postwar years, selling over 29,000 copies by the end of the year and shaping house design for the next two decades.

Another seminal event was the National Housing Act amendments of 1954, which introduced mortgage loan insurance to make home ownership accessible to more Canadians and make CMHC responsible for reviewing loan applications.

The agency turned its attention on energy use in 2005, when it offered a 10% “green refund” on mortgage loan insurance premiums for homeowners who buy or build an energy-efficient home or make energy-saving renovations. That same year CHMC also launched the first phase of Canadian Net Zero Energy Healthy Housing initiative to promote efficient use of energy for heating and electricity.

Did You Know?

* While family size declined over the period, the number of households increased. In each 5-year period between 1963 and 2011, the number of private households grew faster than the population, particularly between 1966 and 1981.

www.ohba.ca

N! OP E NO W RA TI ON GI ST RE

For more information call 1-800-387-0109 or go to www.ohba.ca For more information call 1-800-387-0109 or go to www.ohba.ca

years

PLUGGED IN:

EnerQuality sets the standard

Conserving energy has been in vogue since the energy adding environmental and health features in the areas of water crisis of the 1970s spawned the original energy-efficient building conservation, indoor air quality and resource management. label known as R-2000. That 31-year-old program, which revo- Other initiatives include the LEED Canada for Homes rating syslutionized how Canadian homes are built, has since given rise to tem that recognizes leadership in green building, and the Enermultiple initiatives that are not merely paying off for the environ- Guide Rating System, which offers builders the means to benchment, but for consumers and builders alike. mark the energy performance of the houses they build.

The evolution of the concept, which has come to include water Certainly, today’s homes are far more energy efficient than conservation and waste reduction, is embodied in EnerQuality. older homes. But just how much more? The Canadian Home Marking its 15th birthday this year, EnerQuality’s mission is Builders’ Association, with the assistance of CanmetENERGY, to transform Ontario’s housing into the most energy efficient an R&D division of Natural Resources Canada, compared the and sustainable in the world. Founded in 1998 as a partnership energy use of a 1975 Ottawa house with exactly the same home between the Ontario Home Builders’ Association and the Cana- built to today’s building code requirements. What they found was dian Energy Efficiency Alliance (CEEA), EnerQuality partners that the amount of energy required for space-heating in today’s with local homebuilders associations, governments, utilities, home would be 78% less than for the 1975 version, with overall manufacturers and consultants to bring its programs to market. energy use 66% less than in 1975. And how does that translate Its three main objectives include certification (its labelling pro- to the bottom line? The typical 1975 home would consume 7,498 grams provide the quality assurance that makes it easy to find cubic metres of natural gas per year. The 2012 version of the same an energy-efficient or green home), training (educating builders, home would require just 1,695 cubic metres of gas. Based on curtrades and professionals in the products and practices of energy rent rates in the Ottawa area, this would deliver annual cost savefficiency and green building) and consulting (working closely ings of approximately $1,390. with builders to help them adopt energy-efficient practices).

Air leakage is one area of particular improvement in effiOne of the more ambitious EnerQuality initiatives is ENERGY ciency. If all the holes, cracks and seams in the typical home built STAR for New Homes (ESNH). First piloted in in Ontario in April in 1975 were brought together, they would add up to 350 square 2005, the program was developed by Natural Resources Canada inches, or a round hole more than 21 inches in diameter. In the to help the public easily identify energy-efficient homes. As same home built to the 2012 Ontario Building Code, the air leakof December 1, 2012, ESNH’s Standard has been revised and age area would be reduced by more than two thirds. OHB updated and the new ESNH qualification results in homes that are approximately (GJ/year) 20% more energy efficient than those built to minimum building codes.

1961-1977 1978-1983 1984-1990 1991-1997 1998-2005 2005-2011 2012-(OBC 2012) 343.2 246.1 199.9 175.0 166.6 137.7 116.8 The GreenHouse Certified Construction, meanwhile, moves beyond ESNH by

Total Home Energy Use

Did You Know?

66% * Compared to an identical home built in the mid 1970s, a home built today is 66% more energy efficient.

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ontario home builder summer 2013

-28%

-42%

-49%

-51%

-59%

-66%

EnerQuality’s Program Status FY ENERGY STAR® ERS R-2000 GreenHouse LEED

Enrolled Labelled Enrolled Labelled Enrolled Labelled Enrolled Labelled Enrolled Labelled 2006 96 96 606 606 102 86 113 70 2007 5,414 1,246 2,431 878 100 40 2008 4,897 3,300 603 938 138 63 16 2 2 0 2009 13,730 5,848 2,072 701 119 62 114 21 167 0 2010 3,860 6,776 400 398 2011 6,213 7,263 282 570 160 138 64 87 172 2 99 196 28 49 6 161 2012 15,993 7,476 883 398 Total 50,203 32,005 7,432 4,644 1,091 905 222 159 347 163 Notes: EnerQuality’s fiscal year is April 1 to March 31 Source: EnerQuality Corporation EnerQuality is licensed by NRCan to deliver ENERGY STAR® for New Homes, the EnerGuide Rating Service and R-2000.

www.ohba.ca

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e v i t c Prote Measures

ered g n a d n e g in rd ns rega New regulatioies are taking flight spec nes

By Tracy Ha

in early 2010,

Ottawa’s Regional Group was nearing the end of the approvals process for a residential development on a parcel of land within the city boundaries. While the project was in the Draft Plan approval stage, the bobolink, a medium-sized songbird that nests in grasslands such as hayfields, was ‘uplifted’ to protected status under the Ministry of Natural Resources’ (MNR) Endangered Species Act (ESA). A City of Ottawa staff member looked at an aerial photo of the property and concluded it could be a potential bobolink habitat. The Regional Group’s staff biologist investigated and found six of the birds on the land. The city required that an “overall benefit permit” be obtained from the MNR before approval could be granted.

That set off a long, confusing and difficult process that stalled development until the issue was resolved in April 2012. “We had 160 acres and there were two or three acres where the birds were,” explains Josh Kardish, development manager for the Regional Group. “No one knew what that meant or how to deal with it. There was a lot of ambiguity.”

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ontario home builder summer 2013

Initially, it was suggested that 140 acres of the site constituted habitat and the MNR wanted the Regional Group to contribute two acres of protected habitat for every acre of potential bobolink habitat to acquire a “net benefit” permit.

“If we had 140 acres (of possible habitat), we’d have had to find 280 acres somewhere else that was protected and hand it off,” says Kardish. “What was and wasn’t acceptable replacement land wasn’t clear, where the land would be, how much money it would cost to manage it. Habitat is dynamic and changes all the time. If you let it go wild, the grass disappears and it’s not attractive to the birds anymore.”

Eventually, it was agreed that 80 acres constituted potential habitat. The Ontario Home Builders’ Association worked closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources to develop an appropriate transition regulation that respected previously earned approvals: For every acre of habitat, the Regional Group would supply 1/10th of an acre of habitat at a different location. The Regional Group financially secured the suitable eight acres through a local land trust.

The ESA has created confusion and frustration for the residential construction industry over the past half-dozen

www.ohba.ca

photoS: (left) Natural Resources Ministry; (barn swallow, top left) larry watkins; (jefferson Salamander, right) Leo Kenney, Vernal Pool Association

years, as well as for the agricultural, mining, aggregate and for- much additional land was needed for their protection. estry industries, not to mention municipalities planning road “In my opinion, while the legislation was well-intended, the and water main construction, or the provincial government MNR was not ready in any practical way to withstand the volplanning major hospital or infrastructure expansion. All must ume of applications that it inevitably got,” says Jepp. “They did obtain MNR approval if they are dealing with any of the 150- not have the staff or resources needed to manage the deluge of plus protected plants or animals on the list. applications.”

While no one disputes that it’s important to protect endanAnother factor is COSSARO (Committee on the Status of Spegered species and habitat—and they are willing to do so—it’s cies at Risk in Ontario), a group of academics and scientists that the process that has been the biggest challenge. “OHBA con- meet twice a year to determine what species will be uplifted to tinues to support a balanced approach to the environmen- protected status as either ‘endangered’ or ‘threatened.’ Every tal, social and economic goals of the province,” says Mike time a new species was added to the list, it didn’t matter how far Collins-Williams, Director of Policy, OHBA. “With respect to a project was through the approvals process—if it was suspected the Endangered Species Act, we believe that habitat regulation that the species was on a site, things could not proceed until furshould work in conjunction with existing legislation and com- ther investigation and a permit from the MNR was obtained. plement other important provincial goals and objectives. We “You couldn’t plan for this. You may have a public approval have strongly advocated for the and shovel-ready developprovince to implement appropriment and have spent milate transition measures for new lions to develop it, then endangered or threatened spewhat happens if a new species listings that respect previcies of grass is uplifted and ously earned public approvals becomes protected?” says and land designations.”

Kardish.

The building industry and “There were no transiother stakeholders hope new tion arrangements availESA regulations (announced on able to the industry and The endangered Jefferson salamander May 31, 2013) will streamline the you may have obtained and makes its home in deciduous forests. process and provide greater busispent considerable time, ness certainty through transition money and effort obtaining measures. approvals under the PlanBefore 2005, the province didn’t ning Act, only to have those approvplay a major role in land-use planals undermined by requirements ning, although some protections to get an ‘end of process’ approval were in place for the Niagara Escarpunder the Endangered Species Act,” ment and Oak Ridges Moraine. That adds Jepp. changed after 2006 with the GreenSometimes, it was just easier for belt and Growth Plan for the Greater builders to write a cheque than Golden Horseshoe. Furthermore, local protest if they didn’t believe a site planning decisions had to be consistent had endangered habitat or species. with the new Provincial Policy State“There was some suggestion that ment. Legislation enacted in 2007 was one of our projects had bobolink intended to deal with a number of endanhabitat, but we didn’t agree and gered species, including the redside dace, provided documentation,” says Jepp. a 12-centimetre minnow found in streams The project had been zoned and had draft approval. Paradise in the GTA. Most of Canada’s redside dace populations are provided $300,000 to help fund a conservation authority purfound in streams in the Golden Horseshoe Region, and urban chase in Halton. “The reality is that we had to do that or we development poses one of the greatest threats to its habitat. would have been stuck,” says Jepp.

The bobolink, eastern meadowlark, barn swallow and the Jef“It’s a very powerful piece of legislation and wasn’t meant to ferson salamander are other protected species that builders and be used in conjunction with other legislation,” agrees Kardish. developers commonly deal with.

When last year’s provincial budget was tabled in March, 2012, When the legislation came in, there were no grandfathering the government responded to some OHBA concerns and outexemptions or “transitions” provided for projects that were lined plans to transform key parts of the ESA to improve the already well along in the approval process, notes Mark Jepp, implementation of the legislation and streamline the proParadise Homes’ director of land development, and that left the cesses. OHBA proposed to have a stronger landscape focus and housing industry scrambling with regard to managing the leg- shift from a species-by-species approach to a risk-based ecosysislation in their day-to-day business. “It was more than just the tem approach as well as recommending transition policies for redside dace,” Jepp adds. “If you had any of them or a number projects that had already obtained public planning approvals. of other species on your property, you were now entangled in The Ministry of Natural Resources struck an Endangered a very complicated exercise with the MNR in determining the Species Act Stakeholder Panel in November 2012, consisting extent of the species, what protection was necessary and how of members who reflected a broad range of interests and exper-

I“ t can slowe h t p o t s r o s ’ t I . s s e c o r p d n a g n i s u conf .” t l u c i f f i d it’s

www.ohba.ca

ontario home builder summer 2013

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4 4

ontario home builder summer 2013

www.ohba.ca

photoS: (redside dace) north american native fishes association; (Bobolink) GEORGE k. Peck

tise, including OHBA representatives. “OHBA is working with of site-specific activities. You can learn more by visiting mnr. government and other stakeholders to improve the implemen- gov.on.ca and look up the new regulation : O. Reg. 176/13. tation of the Endangered Species Act so that it is clear, fair and Chloe Stuart, the Manager of Permits and Agreements for timely and will contribute to the protection of endangered spe- the Species at Risk Branch at the MNR, says that through the cies, while also supporting job creation and a healthy business proposed changes (that have since been passed), a risk-based environment,” says Collins-Williams, a member of the stake- approach will be applied and some projects that pose lower holder panel and of the Ontario Bobolink Roundtable. risk could proceed without having to go through the permit Bobolinks, eastern meadowlarks, chimney swifts and barn process. Those projects would have to be registered with the swallows are all birds that prefer a MNR, documents maintained manmade habitat, says Collins-Wiland plans monitored. “We will liams. Bobolinks and meadowlarks do normal auditing to check in nest in farmers’ fields where crops and see how the rules are folare grown, while the swifts and lowed,” says Stuart. swallows nest in buildings such as For instance, if a builder found barns or vacant houses. Ironically, that chimney swifts were nestif hayfields where the birds nest ing in a vacant home or buildare left to grow wild or if crops are ing slated for demolition on a changed, the birds no longer use it as site, it would no longer require a a habitat. Farmers have been given permit. The same would apply if a three-year exemption from the bobolinks were found to be nestrules and could still harvest their ing in a field pegged for developcrops, but that expires next year ment. Builders and developers and Bette Jean Crews, a farmer and (or farmers, mining companies, member of the Bobolink Roundtable, says gravel pit operators, etc.) will still have to farmers need to know by fall to determine wait for the birds to leave and must provide what crops to plant or if to plant at all. a “net benefit,” such as providing habitat in The stakeholder panel came up with 29 a different location, funding a research projrecommendations for the MNR, some of ect or restoring habitat, such as removing which were incorporated into the new ESA debris or planting natural vegetation. regulations passed this spring. The new Permits will also no longer be required for rules were announced one month prior activities necessary for human health and to 65 additional species receiving gensafety, such as repairs to bridges or roads, eral habitat protection and also include The redside dace (top) and bobolink pose but the work will have to be registered. Projstreamlining provisions for some species common challenges for builders. ects that pose greater risk to species or habialready on the list. tats would still require a permit, says Stuart.

The regulatory changes will provide a transition for projects Key concerns of the building industry included: that are already well through the approval process; builders 1. Transition policies at the Draft Plan of Subdivision stage for and others will still have to register their projects, follow the the 65 species receiving habitat protection in June 2013 are rules and provide protection, but won’t have to halt work and very late in the approvals process, although the industry is sup- go through the permit process. portive of the government providing certainty and respecting Another problem, such as in the Regional Group’s case, was existing approvals. determining how much area constitutes habitat. “That’s cer2. Streamlining to provide greater certainty, as the negotiation- tainly challenging, as there are many different species,” says based system was dysfunctional.

Stuart. “We are looking at providing an online tool box that 3. A balance between environmental, social and economic pri- would provide habitat description and survey protocols that orities as demographic growth is a reality that has to be appro- will help to interpret the regulations.” priately planned for.

The legislation will still stand on its own and not operate in 4. And the ESA should be considered in the context of broader context with the Planning Act or other acts or plans, she says. legislative framework, including the Planning Act, Provincial Here is Kardish’s and Jepp’s advice to builders on how to deal Policy Statement, Greenbelt and Growth Plans, Metrolinx with the ESA—before and after the rules change: Transportation Plan and other provincial plans.

• Ensure that specialists such as biologists, aquatic specialists or environmental scientists are a fundamental part of your On May 31, the MNR made improvements to the implemen- team early in the process. tation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in response to feed• Do spot checks in the field so you know what’s on your land. back received from the public, stakeholders and organizations, Be aware that you may have to make some compromises with including OHBA. The simplified rules include industry-specific the MNR. transition provisions and a rules-in-regulation approach, which • Be prepared to provide a “net benefit,” including habitat includes registering with the MNR that applies a risk-based somewhere else, funding a research project or restoring habitat approach to move away from the detailed review and approval on your property. OHB

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The

Usual Suspects

Top 10 Legal Questions Asked by Builders

By Elaine Kapogines

Building a house, condo or subdivision is certainly not a solitary act. It not only requires the heavy lifters, but also the pencil pushers. In fact, some might argue that it’s not the poured concrete that creates the foundation; it’s the mountain of intricate paperwork on which the project is built.

Having a solid, reliable legal team behind any project serves many purposes beyond keeping builders out of court. Ontario Home Builder spoke to a number of lawyers who specialize in building-related areas of law to identify some of the most common questions for which builders and developers seek legal advice. Not surprisingly, many questions revolve around money— where to get it and how not to spend it. So let’s start our list at the bottom— the bottom line, that is.

Money Matters Where can I get financing?

Without money, there would be no construction, so sourcing it is an important area in which builders seek advice. “In this marketplace, financing is particularly difficult for newer or less established builders,” says Leor Margulies, partner and head of the real estate department at Robins Appleby & Taub.

“Don’t get me wrong, there is financing out there, but the more competitive rates are just not available, especially in high-rise, unless you have a strong, established relationship with the Schedule 1 banks,” says Margulies, adding that “low-rise is a little easier. If it’s a good project, the Schedule 1s will open up to the low-rise builders. But right now, with high-rise, it’s a zero.”

One way to access these rates, advises Margulies, is to “partner up.” By doing a joint venture with a builder who has an existing relationship with the Schedule 1 banks, a new builder will be able to get their foot in the door with the big guns and start creating a relationship of their own. “We do a lot of work with the Schedule 1s, secondary lenders and private lenders, so we can introduce clients to www.ohba.ca

the right people where we see a fit. Or, in the case of high-rise, we can help them to find the right partner for a joint venture.”

Once a builder has the money they need, subsequent questions revolve around how not to spend it, specifically:

Is there anything I can do about development charges?

Anything that has to do with outgoing cash is obviously in the forefront of the minds of builders and developers.

And, as it turns out, a simple call to your lawyer could actually help reduce some of those fixed costs, including development charges. “We are very active with municipalities, and we represent developers in negotiating and reducing development charges,” says Tammy Evans, a partner at Blaney McMurtry, whose practice focuses on mixed-use and condominium development and construction contract law.

Simply being aware of timing may also help on this front. “We help clients make strategic decisions around when to apply for permits and also make them aware of the trigger dates for increases in development charges,” Evans says, adding that “strategizing around the timing of different applications ensures that the project is as cost-effective as possible.”

Which brings us to Question #3:

How do I minimize a land transfer tax?

“Ever since God created land transfer tax, builders have been trying to figure out ways to minimize or avoid the cost—both on the acquisition and sales side,” says Margulies. If you’re simply buying a piece of land from someone who’s selling it, there’s not really much that can be done in terms of land transfer tax, but when a transaction can be structured as a joint venture, for example, there is some flexibility.”

Margulies points to two recent instances where his firm has helped structure a “quasi-joint venture, where the new partner never actually acquired the title to the land and therefore did not have to pay the land transfer tax,” he explains. In one case, the client was able to save the approximate $400,000 land transfer fee by structuring a “very complex” joint venture.

So if forking over lawyer fees may actually save money, the next logical question is:

What is the cost to fight?

When it comes to fighting for your cause, it’s important to consider how the cost of that battle will affect your margins, advises Cory Estrela, a lawyer with Devry Smith Frank LLP, whose practice focuses on planning and development law. “Someontario home builder summer 2013

47

“don’t be paying money just because a municipality asks for iT.” —Craig Robson, Robson Carpenter LLP times there’s nothing more to do than be upset and use your lawyer as a shoulder to cry on, so to speak,” says Estrela. “You might be right, but at the end of the day you have to look at how much it’s really going to cost to solve the problem.”

When deciding whether or not to go toe-to-toe with a regulatory board or approval authority, the key is to pick your battles wisely—and early—notes Estrela. “As with any situation, you can save yourself legal costs by involving your lawyer early, (rather than) trying to fix a problem further down the line.”

Tick-Tock How long will it take?

According to Evans, builders often come to her with a calendar in hand.

“Timing is very project-specific—it really depends on the complexity,” says Evans. Between predevelopment, construction and registration, creating a reasonable timeline can be a challenge, especially when you factor in potential—and often unavoidable—delays.

For example, predevelopment work alone could take anywhere from one to three years, and something to keep in mind when working out these timelines is the municipalities’ involvement. “You may have to go for severance consent, or you may have to go to the Ontario Municipal Board if the city doesn’t agree with your proposal, and that can always add time.”

Having legal representation from the initial stages can minimize delays by anticipating potential problems. “It also helps to avoid addressing or unwinding things that have already been put into place,” says Evans, who notes that it’s easier to advise someone before they’ve taken action rather than trying to fix 48

ontario home builder summer 2013

an uninformed decision down the road, which can lead to even more delays.

When things don’t got according to plan, builders invariably ask:

Why is this taking so long?

Even with the best legal advisors on your side, some delays can be unanticipated and unavoidable. “Nowadays, there are so many tests, studies and checks— environmental or otherwise—that need to be conducted, that it can seem like things are taking forever,” says Craig Robson of Robson Carpenter LLP, whose practice is focused on condominium, subdivision and land development law.

Robson points to a recent project in the Kitchener-Waterloo area that had 175 conditions, with a large number of them requiring studies, peer reviews or engineering reports. “It’s going to be a twoto three-year time period just to satisfy the conditions.”

Development is getting far more complex, Robson explains. “The age of simply going out and buying a farm and having a nice, clean greenfield development with no neighbours is disappearing. People are now building subdivisions on pieces of dirt that 10 years ago we all would have laughed at. Any available dirt now is becoming worthy of development because the prices per front foot have just gone through the roof.”

Mother, May I? With so many complex rules and regulations governing the building industry, builders frequently end up in their lawyers’ offices asking what’s allowed and what’s not, one of their first inquiries being:

Can I do this?

This is a common question, says Estrela.

“Usually they want to build something bigger and better,” he says, especially of custom builders. “Most builders have a pretty good sense about what they can do just by looking around the neighbourhood, but they always want to push the envelope, so that’s where the questions really come in: ‘Can I make this bigger? Can I get permission to do it?

And can it be done by minor variance, rather than going through an official planning process?’”

Dealing with municipalities elicits a certain amount of anxiety for builders, so they very, very often ask:

Can the city really ask for that?

“Often the city will ask for some…let’s call them indulgences or give-backs,” says Evans, pointing to things like parkland dedication, more lively streetscaping or hard landscaping. “The builder or developer will often engage us to find out if the city’s (requests) are fair, reasonable and permissible.”

In some cases, the builder’s or developer’s vision does not match that of the municipalities and there has to be a negotiation, ideally with some give and take on both sides. It’s important to remember that what the municipalities ask for are not always requirements, and it’s within your rights to question their requests, Evans observes. “The approval authority’s requests are often reasonable, but sometimes from the developer’s perspective, they are not.”

Robson says he actually wishes more of his clients would ask this question.

“Municipalities can reach their hands out far further than they should and ask for money they are not entitled to.” Case in point: Robson has dealt with a municipality that still charges developers a huge amount for arterial roads that are actually serving the entire city, which is contrary to Section 59 of the Development Charges Act. When Robson asked a client why he paid the charge, the client simply said, “They’ve been charging it for years.”

“Don’t be paying money just because a municipality asks for it,” Robson advises.

Have your lawyer review charges prior to paying them, he notes. A quick look could save you tens—or even hundreds—of thousands of dollars. www.ohba.ca

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And it’s not just the municipalities that cause builders stress. Federal and provincial legislation can also throw a wrench into your plans. And with the recent changes to the Endangered Species Act, many builders are asking:

What are the requirements in terms of environmental legislation?

Builders need to be especially cognizant of the legislation and regulations surrounding environmental issues in order to avoid legal problems throughout the development process (see “Protective Measures,” p. 38). “I believe the two biggest challenges in the last two years relate to the endangered species and conservation authority regulations,” says Estrela. “How the conservation authority is going to deal with certain things is a bit of a grey area.” Gone are the days when you find a piece of land and make it work for your building. Now it’s about making your building work with the land.”

From butternut trees throughout the GTA to the blackbird-like bobolink across environmental land in Southern Ontario, to the Jefferson salamander in the Hamilton-Burlington area, Estrela says these and other at-risk species are nothing to laugh about, especially with the recent changes to the Endangered Species Act. Estrela’s advice to builders and developers to help prevent potential environment-related problems: “Know what’s on the land before you buy it. And also know what’s near the land, because sometimes what’s nearby can restrict what can be done.”

But when it comes to regulatory bodies, the question lawyers most often field is: How does Tarion figure in to this?

Tarion is a very confusing area for many builders and seeking legal counsel can help to more easily wade through some of the murk. Leor Margulies says he gets a lot of questions from new builders regarding registration. “Tarion has become very conservative and stringent in their requirements for registering newer builders on the high-rise side,” he says, pointing to concerns over completion of the projects, deposit security, deficiency work and general consumer satisfaction. From whom they can hire as tradespeople to the number of projects on the go, to bond requirements, 50

ontario home builder summer 2013

Solicited Advice Tips from the legal pros that can save you time and money

• Involve your lawyer right from the predevelopment work, even if there’s no action to be taken. It may be just as simple as keeping them in the loop.

• Invest in an experienced team and keep them all informed of what’s going on through the process.

• Leave the legal stuff to the lawyers. Even if you’re an experienced builder, don’t try to negotiate deals on your own—you may be setting yourself up for confusion and potentially extra legal costs down the road.

• Know that you have the right to fight for yourself and retaining counsel will help you protect your rights.

• Be honest and tell your lawyer everything, even if you don’t think it’s relevant. Also, resist the temptation to hold back the negative or to minimize a problem. Lawyers rely on what clients tell them, and when they’re not given the whole picture, they could find themselves in an embarrassing situation or even be focusing on the wrong problem entirely.

Tarion enforces requirements for builders with less than five years of high-rise experience. “Tarion is most comfortable insuring projects done by experienced, reputable builders, and bringing in new builders is where (issues can arise). It’s a free country with open competition and Tarion is a regulator, but it can be difficult for new builders.”

Craig Robson says he gets a lot of questions about the schedule itself. Even after dealing with the Tarion schedule for a number of years, Robson says he still has to pull it out every time a question comes up. “It’s so complex and uniquely drawn that you can’t figure it out. And unfortunately that’s getting some builders into trouble. They don’t want to come running to their lawyer every time they want to change a date, so they’ll do it on their own. Inevitably, they do it wrong just because it’s quite complex.”

Brian Campbell, an associate with Goldman Sloan Nash & Haber LLP, who acts for builders, developers and subcontractors as litigation counsel, agrees with Robson. “It’s almost impossible for most builders to navigate the labyrinth.”

Campbell also says he’s been dealing with cases where the builder is not being given the opportunity to fix deficiencies.

So what’s a builder to do?

Since Tarion is the regulator in the industry and builders want to remain in good standing with the regulator, your lawyer can serve as a crucial guide along the development path. Margulies says, “Having good representation from someone who’s credible is very important, especially when dealing with a government agency.” Robson wholeheartedly agrees, noting it’s very important to consult with your legal counsel any time you’re dealing with a Tarion-related matter.

“The first thing we do is try to negotiate with Tarion,” adds Campbell. “We want to sit down with them, to bring everyone together and try to resolve the issue.” But, he adds, sometimes the builders have to initiate proceedings to protect their rights. “Most builders don’t know what their rights are. My biggest piece of advice to clients is to retain counsel so there’s an equal playing field.” OHB www.ohba.ca

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Ontario’s building industry pushes for a Building Code amendment

By Marc Huminilowycz

Wood building material is not only local, but also renewable and recyclable.

n 2009, the province of British Columbia, endowed with bountiful forests, changed its building code to allow for the construction of wood frame residential buildings up to six storeys. In the same year, a nine-storey wood frame apartment building was erected in London, England. Sweden boasts a seven-storey wood structure, and Australia will soon claim the world record for the tallest building of this kind—10 storeys.

Meanwhile in Ontario, the provincial Building Code has limited the height of wood frame buildings to only four storeys since 1992. Ontario’s building industry would like to see this height restriction bumped to six. At a May 22 news conference in downtown Toronto, with the mid-rise Toronto Community Housing Waterfront Development Project under construction in the background, the OHBA, BILD (Building Industry and Land Development Association), RESCON (Residential Construction Council of Ontario) and the Canadian Wood Council held a news conference to release a report calling for changes to Ontario’s building code to allow for safe, affordable wood frame housing for residents in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).

“We would like the Ontario government to change the code to allow for six-storey wood frame construction to help unlock the immense potential in neighbourhoods that have underutilized land on major avenues and corridors,” said BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey. “It’s good urban planning, and it’s good for future homebuyers in the GTHA and across Ontario.”

The extensive report, titled Unlocking the Potential for MidRise Buildings: Six-Storey Wood Structures, was commissioned

by BILD and authored by former City of Toronto Chief Planner Paul Bedford. It contains strong planning and economic development rationales for amending the Building Code. “Our report shows that underutilized lands in the GTHA are often well served by existing infrastructure and transit,” said Tuckey.

“Mid-rise buildings can help meet the demand of the growing www.ohba.ca

population, offering a variety of sizes and design features for people of all ages.”

Citing the Building Code change in British Columbia as a case study, the report predicts more affordable options for new home buyers and a minimized carbon footprint as benefits of wood frame construction, along with more construction jobs and increased tax revenue from additional residences. Tuckey estimates that mid-rise buildings could house up to 100,000 people in the GTHA and stimulate the local economy by creating 50,000 jobs.

The report is enthusiastically supported by Toronto’s building and planning departments. Jennifer Keesmaat, City of Toronto Chief Planner, stated in an interview that there is “an absolute urgency to move (the) six-storey wood (proposal) forward.” She believes that changing the Code would lower building costs and help to relieve urban congestion by offering residents affordable homes close to where they work. “There is now a shift to create sensitive and compatible housing in low-rise neighbourhoods situated within corridors that are well served by transit, schools, shopping and amenities,” said Keesmaat. “Mid-rise, six-storey wood structures present the opportunity to build our avenues in a way that is compatible with low-density residential neighbourhoods and allow for an affordable choice in the housing market.

This is an essential initiative for our city.”

City of Toronto Chief Building Official Ann Borooah also fully endorses the report. “In 2001, we urged the province to make this change to the Building Code, but it was rejected,” she says. ontario home builder summer 2013

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“There is an excellent opportunity now to review Building Code changes across Canada. We’re urging the province of Ontario to coordinate with national efforts and work with Ontario’s building industry on this important initiative.”

Places to Grow is an Ontario government legislated program that plans for growth and development in a way that supports economic prosperity. Over the next 30 years, the growth plan forecasts than an additional 4.4 million people will live in the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the legislation encourages future development in built-up areas on main streets instead of allowing continuous urban sprawl. Mid-rise buildings located along the urban corridors of Ontario cities are a vital component of Places to Grow and are included in almost every regional and municipal plan in the province.

From a cost perspective, wood frame construction is a significantly more economical alternative to poured concrete for midrise buildings. The report estimates savings of $30 to $40 per square foot, or up to 20% over steel and concrete, with a cost saving on a 1,000 square foot home of $20,000 to $25,000. “Wood is good, but Ontario wood is better,” declares Leith Moore, President of the OHBA and Vice President of Development at Sorbara Development Group. “There’s pressure in the GTHA right now to build affordable mid-rise housing. Concrete is just too expensive for this type of construction. Wood frame is lighter, faster and more adaptable to pre-fab. And Ontario, with its vast reserves of forests, offers an affordable and home-grown solution to the mid-rise housing demand.”

In 2012, a private-members’ bill introduced by Nipissing MPP Victor Fedeli, the Ontario Forestry Industry Revitalization Act, tried but failed to amend the province’s Building Code to include six-storey wood frame buildings. Leith Moore believes that wood construction could revive Northern Ontario’s ailing forestry industry. He envisions ships sailing the Great Lakes from the north to Toronto harbour, laden with Ontario lumber

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to meet the demands of new mid-rise construction in the GTHA. Needless to say, Ontario’s forestry industry welcomes the idea. “It’s not just what we presently are that defines our sector; it is what we can be,” says Jamie Lim, President and CEO of the Ontario Forest Industries Association. “By changing Ontario’s Building Code to allow six-storey wood construction, we will create a level playing field in mid-rise construction and create a critical market for Ontario wood products in our own backyard.”

A major player in Ontario’s construction is the cement industry. According to recent Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources statistics, the province consumes about 179 million tons of aggregate (including sand and rock used to make cement) per year, one-third of which goes to the GTHA. That amounts to roughly 14 tons per Ontario resident per year. In an article penned by this writer a year ago about public opposition to proposed mega-quarries in Ontario’s Southern Georgian Bay region, an aggregate company executive stated that reserves are becoming scarce—not due to lack of availability but because 95% of potential quarry sites in Southern Ontario are inaccessible due to various environmental restrictions, such as wildlife, groundwater, wetland and natural heritage preservation.

According to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources website, Ontario’s forests cover two-thirds of the province.

Almost 90% of these forested lands are provincially owned Crown land. Carefully managed to ensure the long-term health of forest ecosystems, Ontario wood is among the best-managed natural resource in the world. Wood building material is local, renewable and recyclable, requiring little energy in its production (compared to steel and concrete). More than 75% of wood used in Ontario wood products (including construction) comes from trees harvested from sustainably managed Ontario forests.

Environmental, social and economic benefits aside, the Cement Association of Canada (CAC) is not pleased with the

www.ohba.ca

1. Increases availability and variety of housing 2. More affordable options for new home buyers 3. Supports Ontario’s Places to Grow Plan to reduce urban sprawl 4. Unlocks underutilized lands for development 5. Cost savings over poured concrete 6. Minimal carbon footprint 7. Increases tax base for municipalities 8. More construction jobs

photos: Stephanie Tracy, Photography West (this page and opposite)

Wood framing leads to lower labour and material costs and reduced construction time.

efforts of BILD, OHBA and RESCON to change Ontario’s Building Code. In a press release coinciding with the May 22 news conference, the CAC expressed “tremendous disappointment with those members of the building and construction industry who have called for changes to the Ontario Building Code to allow construction of six-storey wood-frame buildings.”

Last year, in an Ottawa Sun article that cited a fire in 2011 in Richmond, B.C. that destroyed a six-storey wood building during its construction phase, the Fire Fighters Association of Ontario stated that allowing six-storey construction “increases risk to the public and firefighters.” However, in addition to its arguments for changing the Ontario Building Code, BILD and RESCON also commissioned a complementary report, “MidRise Combustible Construction in Ontario—Building Code Issues,” which investigated fire safety issues related to the increased use of combustible material in construction. The www.ohba.ca

report concluded that the number of fire incidents does not increase due to more use of combustible materials in buildings.

Further, a study of data collected by the National Fire Incident Reporting System showed that fire incidents are more often related to the use and occupancy of buildings rather than to the type of construction used in buildings.

The position of the Canadian Wood Council (CWC) on the issue is that the risk of fire is greater during a building’s construction than when it is occupied. In cooperation with Natural Resources Canada and other partners, the organization prepared a technical document, “Fire Safety and Security,” examining the causes of construction fires and outlining steps that should be taken on construction projects to mitigate the risks.

Marianne Berube, Executive Director of CWC and Ontario Wood Works, added that the National Fire Code and regulations in Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act contain many provisions for construction projects that address potential fire hazards and provide solutions to reduce risks. “Wood frame buildings have to meet the same standards as those built using other materials,” she says.

Joe Vaccaro, COO of OHBA, says the association respects the concerns raised by the fire services community. “We recognize the need to ensure these buildings are safe both for the occupants and the fire services and we will work with the fire fighters and other stakeholders to ensure these goals are met.”

Safety, affordability, liveability and sustainability—changing the Ontario Building Code to allow the construction of six-storey wood frame buildings would unlock the immense potential of a new mid-rise market throughout the GTHA, the Greater Golden Horseshoe and in many other Ontario cities. As a major step in achieving the intensification goals of the province’s Places to Grow plan, the move would increase the variety of living choices, while realizing cost savings for new home construction and for new home buyers. OHB ontario home builder summer 2013

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The

Apprentices Multiple programs seek to stem the increasing shortage of skilled trades workers

By Tracy Hanes

n January, the federal government announced that a new program would accept applications from up to 3,000 foreign skilled trades workers this year to help fill gaps in the Canadian labour market. But with Ontario’s unemployment rate at 7.7% and just above 16% for those aged 24 and under, what is being done to fill jobs in the trades with domestic workers?

While the Greater Toronto Area is not currently experiencing a shortage of skilled workers, rural and northern parts of the province, including Sudbury, are critically thin on such talents, according to Stephen Hamilton, manager of government relations for the Ontario Home Builders’ Association.

Careers in the trades are being promoted and made accessible to young people through the Ontario Young Apprenticeship Program, Construction Specialist courses at high schools, union programs or community colleges and some other specialized programs, but roadblocks exist in creating more made-in-Ontario trades workers.

Precisely where youth should seek training “depends on what 56

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kind of trades they want to go into, and not all trades are equal,” says Hamilton. “With restricted trades such as a plumber or electrician, the law is you have to get a certificate of qualification and go through an apprenticeship. For framers or carpenters, it’s easier to enter those trades.”

Framers and carpenters are non-compulsory trades and workers don’t have to be registered or licensed. Other examples of unrestricted trades are cabinetmaker, roofer, welder, and brick and stonemason. Hamilton and others interviewed for this story say finding apprenticeships is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to generating more employable workers. Ontario is lagging behind other provinces in terms of apprenticeship ratios, says Hamilton.

In a trade such as plumbing, Ontario has the highest ratio in the country (three journeymen for each apprentice), while in other provinces it’s typically 1:1 or 1:2. OHBA has been advocating to the provincial government to have the ratios changed to 1:1 for each trade involved in residential construction. A recent report by the C.D. Howe Institute found that despite federal and provincial governments offering grants and tax incentives to encourage peowww.ohba.ca

ple to enter the skilled trades and employers to hire apprentices, provincial regulations are impinging on these efforts and are contributing to the shortage. Provinces with the strictest regulations for hiring apprentices (of which Ontario is one) were found to have fewer young people employed in the trades. Based on the report findings, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association has recommended that the Forum of Labour Market Ministers review provincial regulations governing apprenticeship systems, including mandated journeyperson apprenticeship ratios, caps on registered apprentices and accreditation programs.

At school boards across the province, high school students can gain an introduction to trades careers through Ministry of Education-approved Specialist High Skills Major programs, careerfocused courses that allow students to acquire technical knowledge and skills in various fields, including construction. How immersive the programs are can vary. Some might be limited to classrooms and school shops, while others take students to construction sites to learn on the job. School shop rooms, many of which were shuttered during the ’90s and have been reopened with a renewed focus on the trades, often have outdated equipment that school boards with constrained budgets cannot afford to update. Offsite experiences are largely dependent on support from local Home Builder Associations and their members and suppliers.

Since 2004, high school teacher Ken Willms has been teaching District School Board of Niagara students on the job and his students have built 16 houses. Any student from the 22 high schools in the board area can apply to the construction program and must commit to spending 18 weeks from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday on a site. Various Niagara-area builders have supplied lots and expertise for the students, including Mountainview Homes, Parklane Homes, DeHahn Homes, as well as Habitat for Humanity. The District School Board of Niagara has also been “super-supportive,” Willms says. “Most times the foundation of the house is poured, but on the last couple houses, we’ve done everything from beginning to end—even landscaping.”

“It’s never difficult to fill the program with students and a lot of them come to see what it’s about,” says Willms, who notes that at least 50% of these students go into careers in the trades, most of

BOLT puts a charge in at-risk students Two programs in Toronto are opening some eyes for at-risk youth. Tridel has created a program called BOLT (Building Opportunities for Life Today) to create awareness about construction industry careers, support community-based programs that connect youth with training and educational opportunities in the field and to raise funds to provide scholarships for youth pursuing construction-related programs.

BOLT was created in 2009 in partnership with the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto and the Children’s Aid Foundation and

www.ohba.ca

offers scholarships through George Brown and Humber Colleges, funded through events including an annual golf tournament, the Tridel furniture warehouse sales and private donations. BOLT also organizes “Speak Outs” in schools and in the community—offered by a panel of Tridel staff, tradespeople and industry professionals—to provide information about career opportunities in the construction industry. Tridel and George Brown College also host the annual Day of Discovery for 90 youths ages 16 and older. The day includes a tour of a Tridel

them in construction. “Three former students of mine are working for one framer.” Others have gone on to apprenticeships or attended nearby Mohawk College.

“It’s tough to find apprenticeships in HVAC, electrical and plumbing,” adds Willms. “It’s not as difficult in fields such as carpentry.”

“We are confronted by the same ‘demographic cliff’ faced by many other industries as we look ahead to increasing retirement rates amongst our experienced workers and attempt to recruit and train sufficient numbers to meet anticipated needs,” says Cristina Selva, the executive director of the Carpenters’ Local Union 27 Joint Apprenticeship & Training Trust Fund Inc., a jointly trusted labour-management training centre in Woodbridge.

“We take in about 300 new general carpentry apprentices every year. Recruitment has not been a challenge in recent years, thanks to the excellent linkages that we’ve established with our school board partners through the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship (OYAP) program. We currently have OYAP partnerships with the Toronto District, Toronto Catholic District, York Region, York Catholic, Peel District, Dufferin-Peel, Durham and Durham Catholic District School Boards. Our various pre-apprenticeship programs, such as the CHOICE Program for at-risk youth, and our Formwork Carpentry Pre-apprenticeship Program have also proven to be excellent recruitment vehicles.

“We celebrate hundreds of apprenticeship completions at our annual Graduation Ceremony,” says Selva. “Where we encounter occasional challenges is retaining some of our lesser experienced first- and second-term apprentices during periods of slower activity. Sustained employment is an essential retention tool and the lesser-experienced apprentices are usually most affected by seasonal and cyclical factors impacting the industry.”

Other programs designed to pique high school students’ interest include the School College Work Initiative, offered by Ontario Ministry of Education and Ministry of Training. Further, colleges and universities, through some high schools, offers at-risk students the option to attend college one day a week to earn dual high school and college credits, which can spark interest in the pursuit of trades or apprenticeships. And through the Ontario Youth Apprenproject under construction, where participants are educated on safety practices, observe trades at work and hear from trades and Tridel staff who share their personal job experiences.

There’s also a tour of George Brown’s Centre for Construction and Engineering Technologies, where youth participate in several hands-on activities and learn about college programs and apprenticeship training.

The Central Ontario Building Trades (COBT), meanwhile, offers Hammer Heads, a skill and employmentbased training program that provides apprenticeship career opportunities to the youth of under-resourced GTA neighbourhoods. More

than 85% of its grads have gone on to apprenticeship training programs in the construction industry. The comprehensive 12-week program introduces youth to several trades and includes safety training, hands-on skills development, mentoring and coaching. Hammer Heads uses the experience and training facilities of 28 COBT-affiliated trades. Applicants must have a minimum of a Grade 10 education, be between 18 and 26 years old and reside in a “priority” neighbourhood or under-resourced community in the City of Toronto. They must be referred through an employment service or Toronto Employment and Social Services.

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Great Scott! One Waterloo teacher who’s making an impact In the past 14 years, the students in Scott Shantz’s Home Build/ Construction Technology program at Elmira High School in Waterloo Region have constructed more than 25 houses in the area. The program started with just five students, but momentum built until it got to the point where there was a waiting list. Shantz takes 15 students a year and he estimates about 40-50% of them have gone into trades jobs.

“Every semester, we start with a home foundation and get it through to the drywall stage, when it’s a good transition point for our builder partners to finish,” Shantz says. “Eastforest Homes is our current partner and they really believe in the program.”

Roberts Onsite has donated the van that transports students to jobsites. During the semester, the students will shingle, install doors and windows, insulate and drywall, working alongside subtrades. The builder partner funds the program and contributes supplies.

“Some of our alumni have

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gotten apprenticeships with our building partners,” says Shantz.

“They can find placements if they keep digging and working at it. Some have become millwrights or electricians. One works for an excavator. Another student took the course twice and started his own student painting business, then got into insulating and drywall and now has eight employees. We have quite the alumni list. Some guys are in commercial construction; others build biogas plants.”

Past students keep Shantz and others updated on what they’re doing through a Facebook page: Home-Build Alumni.

With Waterloo area enjoying healthy growth, the job prospects are good in the construction trades, says Shantz, whose program will change next year. He will be teaching construction technology in the classroom during the school year at Elmira High School and the onsite program will be offered through summer school to all students in the board.

ontario home builder summer 2013

ticeship Program, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Grade 11 and 12 students can begin a trade apprenticeship while still in high school through work placements, although students must be able to find an employer willing to take them on as an apprentice.

Youth can also access training through the Labourers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) Canadian Tri-Fund, which represents 26 different sectors from utilities to roadwork to high-rise and residential construction. The Tri-Fund works with LiUNA union locals and their contractors to develop LiUNA programs. Many of the dozen-plus locals in Ontario have a training centre, including Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton, where apprenticeships and training are offered for licensed, ticketed and certificate trades, including Construction Craft Worker, a Red Seal trade developed by LIUNA. “Some centres train 50 a year, some train 250, but there are generally no more than 12 to 15 trainees at any time in any one apprenticeship area,” explains John Mandarino, director of LiUNA Canadian Tri-Fund. “All of our trades are unionized and the apprenticeships are open to anyone. We also offer job placement. We evaluate trainees and have a great ability to place them, although there are no guarantees. If an individual does well in the first phase, he or she will go to work and do very well.”

Mandarino says applicants must achieve a certain level of grades in high school, hold a driver’s licence and be physically able to do the work. “There is greater demand than supply” for training spots, he adds.

In home building, there are always jobs for skilled framers, roofers and foundation workers, while high-rise construction is also providing good opportunities, Mandarino notes.

Approximately two-dozen community colleges in Ontario offer a full range of trades, pre-apprentice and apprenticeship programs. Conestoga College’s School of Trades and Apprenticeship has experienced huge growth. In eight years, it has gone from one of the smallest community college schools of trades to one of the largest in the province. It is now the second-largest apprenticeship trainer in Ontario, training about 4,000 a year in construction, as well as in transportation and for the service industry. Recently, $83,000 was handed out in bursaries and scholarships to its trades students, a policy that commenced four years ago with just $7,000.

Greg White, chair of Conestoga’s trades and apprenticeship program, attributes its success to an enthusiastic staff that has helped build close relationships with suppliers and industry representatives, as well as the Waterloo Region Home Builders’ Association, which has members on the college’s advisory committees, provides scholarships and awards and offers 10 seats a month for students at its dinner meetings.

The program has an excellent track record, with “well over 86%” working in their field six months after graduation, says White. Not all may be working directly in construction, he points out. For example, a plumbing techniques student may not have moved into an apprenticeship but may be working at Home Depot or in a plumbing supply store.

“It’s exciting,” says White. “I think we’re offering a quality product—putting out quality products that the industry needs, which is key.” Several Conestoga trades programs have waiting lists, including powerline technician, electrical programs and construction techniques/carpentry.

White acknowledges that finding apprenticeships is an issue, www.ohba.ca

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facts about the College The new Ontario College of Trades is the first regulatory body for skilled trades in Canada and has started registering workers from 157 trades. It takes its mandate from the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act passed in late 2009 and its goal is to encourage more men and women to work in trades and give the industry a greater role in governance, certification and training.

• The College is responsible for establishing journeymanapprenticeship ratios, which are currently under review.

• Compulsory trades workers will have to register with the college and pay an annual membership fee of up to $120, whereas they previously paid $60 for a three-year term.

• The College is also now responsible for issuing certificates of qualification for non-compulsory trades. Those in a voluntary trade who held a certificate of qualification prior to April 8 will hold it for life and are not automatically members of the College, but can choose to register with it for a fee. Those who get a certificate of qualification for a voluntary trade after April 8 must now renew it annually with the College by paying a membership fee. However, they can opt out of being a member if they don’t want a certificate.

• Employers in Ontario are not required to join the College, even if they have apprentices on staff.

but he doesn’t fully blame Ontario’s ratios. “The sadder part is less than 25% of employers who could take on apprentices don’t,” says White. “I often hear about ratios and I’m as concerned as everyone else, but I’m more concerned about training plans. How do we entice companies that would rather poach apprentices than train apprentices? Some organizations believe it’s better to pay an extra $2 an hour and entice people to work for them than to offer apprenticeships.”

White says one step is to better educate some segments of the construction industry. “We recently had a booth at the RoofTech show in Toronto and a lot of roofing companies didn’t know anything about apprenticeship grants or that they could get a $10,000-a-year tax credit. It was eye-opening for them.”

White admits that the roofing fundamentals program is a hard sell. “We have offered it three times and can’t get young people to register for it, as their perception of the roofing industry is that it’s very transient and labour-intensive with poor working conditions.

But people who have been in it for four or five years see it as an excellent career. They enjoy being outdoors and the money’s good in commercial roofing.”

In Whitby, meanwhile, Durham College’s School of Skilled Trades runs a full suite of apprenticeships and other construction trades programs. “Certainly there is more demand for some spots than can be accommodated, such as for electricians or plumbers, and we can’t sign them all up,” says Darrin Caron, principal/dean of Skilled Trades, Apprenticeships and Renewable Technologies.

Those trades are perceived to be pre-eminent skilled jobs offering lucrative paycheques. “Electrician is the most academic of trades because math has to be strong,” says Caron. “When contracts are up, electricians tend to settle first, then the other trades follow. And so many electricians and plumbers work on the side and earn extra money.

“Another challenge for us is that we haven’t experienced the skilled trades shortage around here,” indicates Caron. “We haven’t seen that materialize and the heavy demand for workers we 60

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District School Board of Niagara students have helped build 16 homes since 2004.

assumed we’d see. Maybe people are choosing not to retire as early as was forecast and are continuing to work.”

The College also has a “great partnership” with the Durham Region Home Builders’ Association, which has donated two homes to serve as living laboratories, Caron notes. One is a 1950s home, while the second is built to the newest standards, using energy-efficient technologies such as radiant heating and tankless hot water heating. “We are constantly adding to it and it will be off-grid.”

Caron says there are many other opportunities for students who can’t get apprenticeships, including a sustainable carpentry program, architectural technology and “programs that look and feel like apprenticeships” that may give students a leg up in securing apprenticeships in the future. “We do a one-year construction hoisting course with mobile cranes and we have two young women who graduated with us and have started at $90,000-a-year jobs in Fort McMurray, and they are 18 and 19 years old!”

The shift from predominantly low-rise to high-rise construction in the Toronto area has also created a shift in jobs in the last 10 years, says Hamilton. “When you move into high-rise construction, you are typically using unionized labour and different trades than low-rise.” These could include crane operators and workers experienced in steel and concrete, rather than wood frame construction. “There is a different skill set required for high-rise construction.”

While many of the skilled trades jobs in the GTA are unionized, most of Ontario’s construction industry is non-unionized and those employers don’t want to hire unionized workers, which is another issue, says Hamilton.

Despite the success of their graduates, there is a lingering perception that skilled trades jobs aren’t as desirable as other professions, says Hamilton. “There is still a kind of stigma out there that if you are not good at other things, this (the trades) is your default,” says Hamilton. “Most parents still want their kids to have a white collar job.”

“Some guidance counsellors are myopic about the trades and would rather send students to college or university,” says Mandarino. “Some parents are a little standoffish about the trades, and the other issue is youths’ lack of understanding about what the trades are and the potential career outcomes. We offer viable, safe careers with good money and the ability to become your own boss.

However, White believes “that society has finally recognized that trades are really the third pillar of post-secondary education.

People in trades get a lot of satisfaction from their jobs and in creating something.” OHB www.ohba.ca

Visit our Mississauga showroom, the largest in Canada, which features running elevators and displays of our vast finishing options.

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Brian M. Campbell, Associate Acting for builders, developers and sub-contractors throughout the Province of Ontario as litigation counsel, since 1975. Representing builders both large and small who have legal problems and difficulties with the Tarion Warranty Corporation.

Brian brings years of experience to the task, and has dealt with every conceivable issued faced by a builder in dealing with purchasers, owners, sub-contractors, Municipalities or Tarion.

In 30 years of litigation, Brian has developed a capacity to identify the problem and solve it with the

minimum of time and cost in a way that maintains the builder’s business and reputation in a competitive market.

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www.ohba.ca

Advocating at the national level

OHBA on Parliament Hill OHBA has a strong record of focused, effective advocacy work on behalf of the residential construction industry at the provincial level, but the 4,000-member organization is also keen to expand its advocacy efforts on the federal stage. To that end, in late spring, OHBA joined with members from across the country and fellow provincial home builders’ associations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for the new home and renovations industries’ National Advocacy Day.

Left: MP Judy Sgro, BILD President & CEO Bryan Tuckey and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Rob Nicholson; (middle) Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews and OHBA 2nd Vice President John Meinen; (right) Hamilton-Halton HBA EO Mathieu Langelier; Waterloo Region HBA EO Marie Schroeder, MP Phil McColeman and MP Mike Wallace.

www.ohba.ca

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LEFT: BILD Chair Steve Upton, MP Phil McColeman, OHBA President Leith Moore and Brantford HBA President Rob Melick.

RIGHT: Haliburton County HBA EO Aggie Tose and MP Barry Devolin.

LEFT: OHBA President Leith Moore, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Durham Region HBA EO Anita Devries and BILD Chair Steve Upton.

OHBA participated in a highly successful ‘Lunch ’n Learn’ event hosted by MP Phil McColeman (CPC Brantford) with other Ontario MPs. A knowledgeable friend to our industry, McColeman operated a successful renovation company for many years and is a past president of OHBA (1992/93) and Brantford HBA. Discussions at this meeting focused on some top Ontario priorities, including proposed changes to the OBC to allow six-storey wood-frame housing construction; renovations and the underground economy; and how the federal government’s changes to the mortgage regulations is negatively affecting the industry.

In addition, OHBA arranged meetings with association members and MPs with mandates that directly impact on the residential new home and renovation sectors, including:

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (MP, CPC Whitby-Oshawa) MP Mike Sullivan (NDP York South-Weston riding) MP John McCallum (LIB. Markham-Unionville riding) MP Judy Sgro (LIB. York West riding) MP Chris Alexander (CPC Ajax-Pickering riding) MP Ted Hsu (LIB. Kingston and the Islands riding) 64

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above: Minister of State (Sport) Bal Gosal, OHBA Policy Director Mike Collins-Williams; MP Devinder Shory, OHBA COO Joe Vaccaro and CHBA President Deep Shergill.

The day culminated in a reception hosted by provincial home builders’ associations from across the country and attended

by Members of Parliament, senators and key federal staff members that provided participants with an opportunity for more casual and informal exchanges in discussing issues of mutual concern. OHBA also effectively presented information to attendees that illustrated the positive impact that the residential building and renovation industry has on economic development and growth across the country.

This advocacy day was the first time that members, executives and staff from the provincial association joined together to present a united front to the federal government on issues that affect the industry and the country. By all accounts the inaugural advocacy day was a resounding success and OHBA will work with CHBA to ensure it will be an annual event.

www.ohba.ca

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Tackling the Issues

MP Daryl Kramp and OHBA 1st Vice-President Eric DenOuden.

Since OHBA had just one day to meet with MPs from across Ontario along with their key staff members and Senators, we zeroed in on these pertinent issues, presenting our concerns, as well as some recommendations, as follows:

Underground Cash Economy

Underground cash operators are a serious burden on Canada’s economy.

Tax avoidance: GST/PST (HST), income & corporate taxes, CPP, EI, WSIB. Significant liability risks to homeowner / health & safety risks for contractors.

Recommend reinstatement of Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC)

Updating GST Thresholds

In 1991, over 90% of new homes across Canada qualified for full GST housing rebates.

Due to price increases, only 37% of new homes qualified for the rebate in 2011.

Recommend that federal government increase GST threshold structure & rates

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Changes to Mortgage Amortization Period

The Government of Canada has made multiple changes to the mortgage amortization period.

New mortgage rules impact all housing markets across Canada and create uncertainty.

Recommend extension of amortization period to 30 years

Coordinated Infrastructure Planning

The adoption of a national longterm infrastructure plan presents substantial opportunities.

Core infrastructure investment (roads, bridges, water/wastewater, transit and highways) creates jobs while improving longterm prosperity & productivity.

Recommend that a long-term infrastructure plan focus on core infrastructure and national transit strategy

Skilled Labour Force Development & Strategic Immigration Policy

Economic expansion and looming retirements are resulting in skilled-trades shortages.

Along with developing a strong national skilled labour program, Canada will have to continue to attract skilled immigrants to mitigate shortages of skilled trades and numerous retirements on the horizon.

Recommend continued education, training and apprenticeship programs supported by the federal jobs grant, along with strategic immigration programs to specifically address skilled labour shortages and regional differences

www.ohba.ca

On behalf of the entire team at Federated Insurance we would like to congratulate the OHBA on your 50th anniversary!

It has been a privilege and an honor to be the recommended insurance partner of such a great organization.

Wayne Connelly President

http://ohba.federated.ca/

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S O U L O F T H E C I T Y S E R I E S : T H E R E D R O C K E T. A N E N D A N G E R E D S P E C I E S ?

SOUL OF THE CITY TORONTO STAR “More subways!” It’s a refrain heard over and over, while the plan calls for more LRTs. The future of streetcar is far from certain, but the place it holds as a symbol of a people-friendly city will remain forever – perhaps because looking out a subway car offers just a flashdance of grey concrete streaming by.

For charm, and the view, the Red Rocket wins, hands down. It’s got soul.

The Toronto Star knows its readers, many of whom ride “The Better Way.” Check it out: 70% more women and 48% more 25-54 year-olds read the Star than our closest competitor.* When the spread in readership is that great, you can bet advertisers know it too. When you place your media, place it where the people are. Advertise in the Toronto Star and on thestar.com *Source: NADbank Fall 2011/Spring 2012, Toronto CMA, Weekday Readership 68

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www.ohba.ca

better building

Wrap it Up A new alternative to wood offers better cabinets for less money

By Steve Maxwell The beauty of wood will always remain

popular with homeowners, but the high cost and technical realities of building and living with solid wood are becoming more and more of a problem. These are some of the reasons wood is showing up less often in new Canadian homes. Just the same, homebuyers still love and want the look of beautiful wood in their lives, and this enduring fact presents an opportunity for builders savvy enough to figure out how to meet the latent demand for the wood experience. The trick is to do it in a way that’s financially, environmentally and practically efficient, and a technology called wrapped laminate profiles can help. Let me show you why I’ve been impressed since discovering this technology four years ago; then you can decide for yourself if it makes sense for the homes you build. www.ohba.ca

Wrapped laminate profiles are an upand-coming material that allows surprisingly convincing woodgrain reproductions of cherry, walnut, mahogany and dozens of other luxurious hardwoods to be available as part of kitchen cabinet drawers and doors, as well as trim and mouldings. Most often fabricated around MDF substrates, kitchens and trim made with wrapped laminate product cost less than half the price of tree-grown counterparts. Good value is the first reason builders and homeowners take notice. But there’s more to enduring success than just saving money.

From an appearance point of view, wrapped laminates are astonishingly authentic. I’m a cabinetmaker by trade—I still work with wood all the time, and I know my walnut from my imbuya. Despite all this I continue to

be surprised by how authentic-looking today’s wrapped laminate doors, drawers and trim are. I literally have to move inches away from the surface to recognize that this stuff didn’t grow on trees.

Some homeowners find they can even pay for a granite countertop with the money they save moving from a solid wood kitchen to a wrapped laminate alternative that looks at least as good. It’s not just a matter of appearance, either.

The best wrapped-laminate products also have woodgrain textures, so they have the rich feel of fine hardwoods.

In my experience, Olon Industries (olon.ca; 800-387-2319) is currently the most innovative supplier of wrapped laminate products in North America, and its materials are used by cabinet manufacturers and trim shops across the continent. One reason for their popontario home builder summer 2013

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ularity is the way that both species and colour are integrated into the production of melamine sheet goods made by major mills for use in creating cabinet carcasses. It’s one thing to have a decent-looking set of doors or drawers, but that’s not much good if those doors don’t exactly match the rest of the cabinets.

At the moment there are more than 50 doorframe profiles being made in various fabrication shops around Canada using Olon’s NEXGEN five-piece door and drawer program, including more than 150 wood species and finish appearances. The term “five-piece” refers to the two stiles, two rails and one panel that make up each assembly.

One of the recurring problems with solid wood kitchen cabinets is the way wood gets discoloured with grease and oil around door and drawer knobs. If you’ve ever lived with a kitchen made of light-coloured wood, you know what I mean. Fingers aren’t always clean in the kitchen, and dirt gets driven into wood as soon as the original finish begins to wear thin. It’s a widespread problem, and many of your clients already live in homes with the dirty cabinet door syndrome. Apart from refinishing, it’s virtually impossible to fix. The best wrapped laminate doors and drawers, by contrast, are completely impervious to staining, and their durability goes beyond just grease resistance.

The best wrapped laminate profiles are to cabinets and trim what laminate flooring is to floors. More durable and easier to install since there’s no need for site-applied finishes, wrapped doors and drawers also resist fading from sunlight. It’s actually difficult to harm wrapped laminate profiles, even if you set your mind to it. Car keys, a screw driver or even a letter opener didn’t make a mark on the surface of NEXGEN doors during my tests, even if rubbed fairly hard.

Toughness benefits clients, but it also means there’s less likely to be damage during construction. Most door fabricators offer a five-year structural and appearance warranty that you can pass on to your buyers. But from my research, warranty claims even beyond this are virtually non-existent, so it’s not much of a risk. www.ohba.ca

For purists, NEXGEN doors and drawers always have grain direction running the way it’s supposed to—vertically on most panels, and around the perimeter on stiles and rails. Materials can be specified as FSC-certified and the NEXGEN laminate manufacturing process offers built-in antibacterial properties for institutional applications. For homeowners particularly concerned about indoor air quality, doors and drawers meet the strict CARB Phase 2 indoor air quality standards. Thanks to super-tight 45º or 90º corner joints, there’s no chance for off-gassing of formaldehyde from the MDF inner core.

The more time goes on, the more home building becomes a modular process. The trick is finding the best modules from the most reliable suppliers. From everything I see, wrapped laminate doors, drawers and trim have all the features that will let it take off.

That’s already occurred in Quebec, where about one-third of the new cabinet market now uses wrapped laminates instead of solid wood. That said, there’s something special about solid wood, and there always will be. For those who can pay the price, solid wood will continue to go into the highest-end jobs. But for the vast majority of new homes, renovations and commercial work, it looks to me like something new and better is about to become mainstream.

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Craftsmanship. Style. Performance.

On watch

Monitoring an owner’s behaviour could improve how a house functions

By John Caulfield For decades, builders have talked about making homes “smarter.” Lately, that’s meant installing systems that monitor energy usage to help homeowners reduce their utility bills. But what if a house could think for itself by responding, via sensors and computers, to an owner’s behavioural patterns and adjust the indoor environment accordingly? www.ohba.ca

Carefully crafted with outstanding quality, superior functionality and unmatched performance; all backed by the best warranty in the business. It’s easy to see why more architects, contractors and homeowners specify Strassburger Windows and Doors.

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For the past year, Diane Cook, an engineering professor at Washington State University, has been evaluating the limits of “ambient intelligence” (AI) at a retirement home in Seattle, where her team has installed sensors that detect motion and track energy use in residents’ apartments.

Computers interpret these “observations” and make decisions about, for example, when to raise or lower the heat.

The ability to assess information and act by automating the control of devices and appliances goes well beyond what houses are capable of today. But Cook’s team has created “fairly robust models” for such a house, and she can envision a day when homeowners go to their local home improvement store to purchase sensor kits they install themselves. (A 2,000-squarefoot apartment at the retirement home costs about $2,000 to rig with wireless sensors and software, she says.)

Cook, whose background is in “machine learning” and data mining, got interested in home automation 11 years ago when she and her in-laws, who are home builders, toured the “Home of the Future” at the Texas State Fair. Cook recalls that what she thought was missing from the concept was “intelligence” transmitted from devices in the home that could be collected to determine occupant behaviour and refine the house’s “operations.”

Cook doesn’t think residents would need to wear sensors for optimal readings (although data mining gets harder when a room has more than one person in it). She thinks that energy monitoring systems are “a good first step” to get homeowners comfortable with the technology. (Bosch and Cisco have provided some of the funding for her research.)

And Cook told the Ars Technica technology website that a homeowner’s smartphone could serve as a data-gathering 10:50 AM tool for the in-home AI system.

Cook’s ultimate vision for AI is to detect changes in occupant behaviour that indicate cognitive or physical deterioration. If the house could adjust to such impairments and provide warnings to family members, the afflicted person might be able to age in place longer.

Reprinted with permission from the July 2012 edition of Builder Magazine, a property of Hanley Wood. www.ohba.ca

monitored with our 5-point inspection

Meeting the R-value challenge The Ontario Building Code now requires higher wall insulation values than standard 2x6 walls can provide, and the trick is making this happen efficiently.

Adding an additional layer of insulation on the outside of 2x6 stud frame walls is one way builders are meeting higher R-value code requirements, but traditional foam cladding isn’t the only way to go. Roxul’s ComfortBoard IS (roxul.com; 800-265-8878) is the latest exterior insulation board to hit the market and it’s unique in several ways.

Fully breathable and with a firm density of 8 lbs. per cubic foot, ComfortBoard IS is rigid enough to support wooden strapping directly on top for siding installation.

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are another approach for meeting higher code requirements, and they do it at an exceptionally low installation cost.

Today’s 4”-thick SIPs, delivering R17, meet code even in areas requiring R24, because they’ve been shown to deliver the same real-world performance, while requiring less construction labour.

www.ohba.ca

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3/10/11 2:15:24 PM

Are you prepared for this year’s health and safety blitz?

This year, the Ministry of Labour is coordinating the proactive enforcement blitz schedules for the Occupational Health and Safety Program and the Employment Standards Program.

It highlights the importance the ministry places on protecting workers’ rights under both the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and the Employment Standards Act (ESA), as well as enhancing employers’ awareness of their responsibilities. “Fall Hazards” is the topic for the construction sector in September and October, while “Construction in Active Workplaces” will be the focus in January 2014.

Blitz findings are generally reported soon after completion. The Ministry tracks each sector to determine whether the blitzes result in long-lasting improvements in compliance and fewer injuries or fewer breaches of employment standards.

Employment standards officers visit employers to check compliance with core ESA standards, such as displaying the Employment Standards poster, wage statements, unauthorized deductions, record keeping, hours of work, eating periods, overtime pay, minimum wage, public holidays and vacation with pay.

They focus particularly on sectors where there is a history of employment standards violations and where vulnerable workers are employed.

Health and Safety Ontario inspectors issue hundreds of orders during blitzes, including stop-work orders. Complying with those orders can diminish productivity and distract workers and management from other priorities.

Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) consultant Lois Weeks encourages workplaces to get ahead of the game by identifying and addressing www.ohba.ca

Congratulations Congratulations Congratulations ononyour your on your New Home New Home Congratulations New Home

prevention issues now. For instance: • Identify the hazards in your workplace that can cause injury or illness and establish a plan for how these hazards will be managed.

• Review your legal requirements.

•Have a well-documented health and safety program visibly in place, and implement hazard-related strategies, tools and training.

•Make employees aware of hazards, and ensure they have the right protective equipment, if required, and how to use it.

Weeks also encourages workplaces COGECO CABLE to invest in their supervisors. During would like to help you celebrate the COGECO purchase ofCABLE your new home by offering the inspection blitzes, inspectors will you a SPECIAL PROMOTION would like to help you celebrate the COGECO CABLE be looking closely to see if workers have purchase home by the offering would likeoftoyour helpnew you celebrate Save over $800.00 received adequate instruction from suyou a SPECIAL PROMOTION purchase of your new home by offering on Digital Cable, High Speed Internet and Digital Phone pervisors on the task or procedure at you a SPECIAL PROMOTION hand, and that supervisors understand Save over $800.00 the legislation that applies to the task COGECO CABLE Save over $800.00 on Digital Cable, High Speed Internet Digital would like to helpand you celebrate the Phone they are supervising, as well as their on Digital Cable, High Speed Internet Digital Phone purchase of your and new home by offering responsibilities and workers’ general you a SPECIAL PROMOTION rights under the Occupational Health and Save over $800.00 Safety Act. on Digital Cable, High Speed Internet and Digital Phone “A good supervisor can make or break your safety program,” says Weeks.

“Employers may not realize this.”

Inspectors will likely want to know whether workers have the information they need about health and safety. If your workers can’t answers these questions, then consider devising a strategy Please call 1-866-216-0045 or email Expiry Date: Aug. 2012 Expiry Date: Aug. 15,15, 2012 NewHomeBuilder@northerncallsolutions.com for more information that will provide them with the required information and training: • What are my health and safety responsibilities and what rules should I know about?

Please call1-866-216-0045 1-866-216-0045 or or email email • What are my workplace hazards?

Please call NewHomeBuilder@northerncallsolutions.com for more Please call 1-866-216-0045 or email • Will I receive job safety training? How NewHomeBuilder@northerncallsolutions.com for more information information NewHomeBuilder@northerncallsolutions.com for more information often? On what topics?

• What personal protective equipment should I be wearing? When should I wear it?

How should I wear it?

•Will I be trained in emergency proceDon’t take risks with “Species at Risk” dures (e.g., fire, chemical spill)?

Well-timed inventories will prevent • Where are fire extinguishers and other SAR-related project interruptions! emergency equipment located?

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better building

Why new tools are getting the “brush-off”

By Steve Maxwell The up-and-coming trend in cordless tools is brushless motors, with manufacturers claiming greater run time, more power and much longer tool life.

I’ve taken an inside look at most brushless tools currently on the market and tested the performance claims myself.

Results of 50% longer run time and 20% more power for a given type of tool is common in my tests, and this can make a significant difference in your bottom line.

Brushless motors get their name from the lack of carbon blocks (these are the “brushes” that deliver electricity to the revolving parts of traditional DC motors). There are two reasons brushless motors deliver more power and longer run time. First, there’s less internal motor friction. Without brushes rubbing on the commutator as the motor spins, less energy is wasted in the form of heat. This difference is large enough that brushless tools operate noticeably cooler than brush-style counterparts under heavy load. They’re also quieter!

Another brushless advantage is the way magnetic forces can be delivered more efficiently inside the motor. Unlike the mechanical systems inside brushstyle tools, sophisticated electronic controls determine how current is delivered inside the motor—all of which translates 76

ontario home builder summer 2013

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into increased spinning motion.

And finally, since brushless motors eliminate internal rubbing, motor life is extended significantly. It’s not unusual for a brushless drill motor to last at least 10 times as long as a brushed model.

In tests I’ve seen, individual high-end brushless drills were still working fine after boring nearly 500,000 1” diameter holes in construction lumber.

Faster subfloor installation Glued and screwed subfloors are solid and squeak-free. That’s why they’re the industry standard, though the work is one of the slowest parts of framing.

Dispensing all that construction adhesive and driving all those screws is the reason why. Beefy cordless caulking guns are one way around the adhesive bottleneck, and Milwaukee (milwaukeetool.com; 800-729-3878) has taken the lead here with the largest offering of contractor-grade caulking guns on the market, available in both 12V and 18V configurations. But even with an efficient way to apply construction adhesive, installing all those screws is still a pain. Paslode’s Tetragrip flooring nails (paslode.com; 800-387-9692) go in faster than screws and they hold just as well. Gun-driven just like any other modern nail, the deeply grooved shanks bristle with tiny barbs, and the spiral shape means the nails rotate as they enter wood, just like screws. Tetragrip nails do require a dedicated gun to drive them optimally, but what’s another air nailer if it saves you the hassle of driving thousands of subfloor screws?

www.ohba.ca

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better building

Devry Smith Frank LLP Lawyers & Mediators

www.devrylaw.ca We’re growing to meet your needs. DSF is pleased to announce that

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Strategic advice for business focused results. Providing legal assistance from project inception to completion: • Planning & Development • Commercial Litigation • Real Estate & Financing • Corporate Law • Aggregate/Natural Resources • Development Charges • Municipal • Taxation

Contact David or Cory for all your planning and development needs.

David White - 416-446-3330 david.white@devrylaw.ca Cory Estrela - 416-446-3329 cory.estrela@devrylaw.ca

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Futuristic convenience at your fingertips A trio of high-tech new creations are making builders look good. Providing peace of mind for new home owners, UrbanHippo (urbanhippo.ca) is a Stoney Creek-based control technology specialist that partners with builders to implement SmartHome features.

SmartHome offers the ability to monitor and control dozens of home parameters remotely from smartphones and tablets around the world—from alerting your clients that someone has entered to house, to closing your garage door and turning off the TVs when it’s time for your kids to do their homework.

Arriscraft (Arriscraft.com) is also leaving no stone unturned in making business easier than ever for its clients with the launch of a new cross-platform mobile website that enables users to plan, calculate and install on the go. Finessed to improve access to the product information and technical support customers need every day, the interactive site operates on Android, BlackBerry and iPhone devices, including iPads and generic tablets. It features a photo gallery, complete product overviews, technical installation guides and video links, a dealer locator, key literature, as well as a proprietary building stone calculator for estimating material requirements.

On the computer app front, Invoice2go provides more than 20 styles to easily invoice, collect, bill, estimate and report— emailing customers directly from your smartphone or tablet. You can even add logos, move fields and create business forms. The free version of this app only allows users to create and manage up to three invoices at a time; the paid version offers unlimited invoices. www.ohba.ca

OHBA AcknOwledges witH grAtitude tHe suppOrt Of Our spOnsOr pArtners:

GIVES YOUR HOME CURB APPEAL! As building lots are getting smaller and smaller, the utilities have no choice but to be front and centre. Nobody wants to have an eyesore on the exterior of their home, and until now they have not been able to do anything about it.

The solution to this problem is GasCov! Having a GasCov is like having a custom built ‘surround’ to hide unsightly gas meter sets; while improving the ‘curb appeal’ and therefore value of your home! NOW available to homeowners at www.homedepot.ca.

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Curb Appeal

11 ways to give passers-by pause for reflection

By Dan O’Reilly

No matter how well it was constructed and how strong the internal components, a new home without an attractive external appearance won’t attract purchases. It’s like a present with no wrapping or a cake without the icing. The following is list of products that will generate great curb appeal.

Weathered for life Providing architectural accuracy ranging from historical wide board and batten to contemporary, ultra-smooth finishes, CertainTeed’s Weatherboards offer a range of options and eliminate long-term maintenance worries. Offering a complete fibre cement system with lap and vertical siding, decorative shapes, soffit and trim, it’s a remarkably realistic wood texture product. It has a Class A flame-spread rating, is impact-resistant, impervious to wood-boring insects, resists UV rays, won’t rot and consistently outperforms wood siding. Weatherboards is backed with a 50-year limited transferable product warranty. certainteed.com

Just sod it Nothing spoils the look of a carefully built home or an entire subdivision than lots without any grass. The best, healthiest and fastest way to a green lawn is to sod it, suggests Greenhorizons Sod Farms, pointing out that turfgrass can enhance curb appeal and increase home values by up to 15 percent. Then there are the environmental benefits. Fifty-five square feet of grass sod will produce enough oxygen for one person for an entire day, says the company. In business for 35 years, Greenhorizons has conducted extensive research into a dozen new low maintenance varieties of turfgrass and is the developer of its own Eco-Turf Blend. JustSodit.com

Making an entrance Like their name implies, the luxuriously crafted, energy-efficient entrance doors from Zola Windows make for a grand opening. With design options ranging from glass to classic style or panel, the doors are designed to match a custom window package from the manufacturer. Available in categories from three-foot side to double lead to 15-foot barn doors, they can be customized to meet almost any size and style request. The glass door comes in either frosted or clear versions. Zola also offers fully custom doors, with German-made, highly insulated cores that can satisfy any design requirements. All entrance doors come with German Roto hardware and multi-point security lock cylinders. zolawindow.com www.ohba.ca

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product focus

Shutting the door on fouL weather Fibreglass doors are ideally suited for Canada’s harsh climate and won’t crack, split, swell, warp or rot like wood.

But the attractive doors from Casa Bella Windows & Doors also feature high-impact, compression-moulded skins that are weatherproof and will not delaminate, corrode, mould or mildew. Available in a variety of superior oak, mahogany and smooth skins textures that provide an authentic-looking stained finish, it has a range of technical features that provide the homeowner with a sense of safety and reduces long-time maintenance. The compression-moulded fibreglass provides superior protection and durability. Other examples include waterproof composite top and bottom rails and a unique locking system that secures the door in two or more locations for additional protection. Another feature is the door’s environmentally friendly polyurethane core, which is 100% CFC-free. casabellawindows.ca

Another bright idea from Lightenco While LEDs use considerably less energy than halogen and incandescent lights, they tend to be very directional. Lightenco, an Ottawa-based turnkey lighting solution design and manufacturing firm, has overcome that drawback with its A19 omnidirectional LED. Distributing a wider span of light, it can be used to enhance key curb-appeal areas such as front entries and porches, pathways, driveways and patios. lightenco.com 82

ontario home builder summer 2013

Shingle is attractive and functional Not only is it an eyecatching attribute that will accent and protect the vulnerable hip and ridge areas of roofs, the Hip & Ridge Plus ridge cap from IKO was designed with the home builder in mind. Lightweight, perforated and with a pre-cut tapered headlap, it consists of three perfectly sized pieces. All that is required is for roofers to fold back the shingle into thirds by using the perforation marks as a guide. No cutting is needed. The product is available in colours matching the manufacturer’s popular Cambridge AR, Royal Estate, Armourshake and Crowne Slate shingles. iko.com

Paint beautiful and practical Sherwin-Williams uses the term revolutionary to describe the technology behind its new Emerald Exterior Acrylic Latex Paint. Builders, however, don’t have to be conversant in technical terms to appreciate both its beauty and practicality.

Darker colours can be painted over vinyl siding without concern about warping or buckling. Providing extreme resistance to blistering, peeling, fading and dirt pickup, with a mildewresistant coating, it can be applied in temperatures as low as 1.6 degrees Celsius. The paint meets the most stringent VOC regulations and is self-priming with a smooth, uniform appearance. sherwin-williams.com/home-builders www.ohba.ca

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product focus

Cast in a classic light Inspired by the Regency style of architecture of early 19th century Great Britain, the Avignon from Corbett Lighting is a light fixture that merges artistry with practical and modern-day lighting requirements. Available as a hanging pendant, wall sconce or post lantern, it works seamlessly with contemporary or rustic housing styles. Finished in Avignon Bronze, it’s available as a one-, three-, four- and sixlight application. corbettlighting.com

Rock-solid investment Builders have countless options to create outstanding curb appeal with the Genstone, a replica stone from Mitten. Some of those options include accents, retaining walls, garages, foundations, deck pillars or even the main walls. Created through an actual stone mould process that captures every detail, the Genstone features the warmth and character of real stone without the costly installation costs. Available in four profiles with a colour-matched caulking, it is waterproof, impact resistant and protected against fading, peeling or blistering.

The manufacturer provides a 25-year limited warranty. mittenbp.com

Doors are sturdy, stylish and secure Not always given the builder attention they require, garage doors are a vital component when it comes to improving the view from the street. In business for just over a century, Richards-Wilcox is the custom manufacturer of a complete range of residential garage doors, including the Family Safe Grandview XL. It comes in 10 colours and six panel choices, including a recently developed recessed panel version, as well as nine window options. The addition of decorative handles and hinges will give the door a classic appearance. Made from Neufoam-TM Polyurethane, the Grandview XL is equipped with a finger-protected joint that is pinch resistant. The door is installed by authorized Richards-Wilcox dealers. rwdoors.com 8 4

ontario home builder summer 2013

Enduring framing system An innovative ma intenancefree and rot-free alternative to traditional wood door frames has been unveiled by Vi-Lux Mouldings. The company says its Vi-Lux door system combines the strength and convenience of wood with the enhanced properties of 100% cellular PVC. The result is a system that is moisture- and insect-resistant, as well as dimensionally stable with a low thermal expansion index. All the door frames are fully UV protected and are available in a smooth white finish that goes well with steel or woodgrain, embossed to match traditional or fibreglass entrance doors. There are several different sizes. For even greater rigidity, the door frames can be additionally reinforced through a proprietary technology. vi-lux.com www.ohba.ca

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Leak-Bye

The Interior Foundation Drainage System Be sure to use the Leak-Bye interior foundation drainage system. Used by award-winning builders, Leak-Bye diverts inside moisture from foundation leaks and condensation to the floor slab drainage system below.

Leak-Bye, your best defense against water penetration.

Leak-Bye Incorporated

RR#3 Mt. Forest, Ontario N0G 2L0 ATTN: John Plume Toll Free: 1-800-393 LEAK (5325) Tel: (519) 323-4123 Fax: (519) 323-4793

Beaver Valley Stone offers the largest selection of natural stone and precast products in Ontario, including flagstone, both random and saw cut. We also have many different types of drywall, ledgerock, natural stone steps and sills. Our precast concrete products include patio slabs, sills, steps and curbs. We also offer a wide selection of interlocking paving stones and retaining wall systems, from a variety of manufacturers.

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OUTside THE BOX

Garages: Inside Out We should consider how we house cars as much we do with housing people

By Avi Friedman A stroll along many suburban

Dr. Avi Friedman teaches architecture at McGill University.

He can be reached at avi.friedman@ mcgill.ca.

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streets is a testimony to what has become the key feature of a singlefamily home design: parking. Pushed up front, garages, with their double and often triple doors, dominate the built landscape. At times one needs to search for the entrance door, all the while wondering why our homes need to look like a carwash.

Postwar suburbanization made people dependent on cars, which became the main mode of commuting to work, school, shopping and entertainment. Wasting precious minutes clearing a snowy driveway was unacceptable. The car had to be brought from the rear to a more convenient spot. In fact, right into it.

At first, parking took place in the basement. Either front or side basement garages for the single family car were discreet. But soon the number of cars per family grew. Today, when a child reaches driving age, car keys are virtually a ‘must’ gift. Mom and dad seem eager to be relieved from the family chauffeur duties.

Coupled with strict bylaws and reg-

ontario home builder summer 2013

ulations that in some municipalities require four parking spots per home, garages had to be located on the house’s front, the only place so many cars could parked in tandem or side-by-side.

Garages, meanwhile, have become a huge closet for unused household goods, as well as lawn chairs, mowers, bicycles and suitcases, while cars sit in the driveway or on the street.

Placing garages up front also exerted a social toll. Front porches had to be omitted, and often not even a window could be placed there. We lost visual contact with our neighbours. One therefore wonders if we can explore more imaginative alternatives to a deteriorating problem.

Perhaps alternate locations for the car can be found. It is time to explore the reintroduction of the lane to Canadian neighbourhoods. Municipalities concerned with the burden of snow removal will have to pass the burden to the homeowners, many of whom now have a snow blower or hire private contractors.

Or we can move garages to the

back. Homes can be pushed closer to the curb to accommodate, which will also enhance our comfort and the scale of the street.

Then there is the idea of parking in common. Townhouses, for example, can have a shared underground parking garage tucked in the rear.

One will barely notice that their backyards are built atop a garage.

Every group of homes could alternatively have a parking structure a short walking distance away. Similar to European neighbourhoods, it can be landscaped and well integrated with the homes. Plug-in receptacles will be installed for winter nights.

Finally, there is street parking to consider. In the name of snow removal and fire truck passage, some municipalities have banned cars from on-street parking. It is time to revisit the merit of these decrees and hopefully change them.

Housing the car today seems as important as housing people. If we value neighbourhood streets, cars must take a backseat to people. Some may even opt for public transit. OHB

www.ohba.ca

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