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ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016 PUBLICATION NUMBER 42408014 IN THIS ISSUE Heathwood Homes Doing It Right The Best Way to Build in 2017 TEETH – Best Research Project Code and Performance Path Climate Change Action Plan Sticking to the Basics Best Practices

Better Builder Magazine Issue 19 Fall 2016

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IN THIS ISSUEHeathwood Homes Doing It RightThe Best Way to Build in 2017TEETH – Best Research ProjectCode and Performance PathClimate Change Action PlanSticking to the Basics

Best Practices

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BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

16

1

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

2Best Way Forward

by John Godden

THE BADA TEST

3The Best Way to Build in 2017

by Lou Bada

INDUSTRY NEWS

6Water, Water, Every Where,

Nor Any Drop to Drink

by Alex Newman

12TEETH Homes –

The Best Research Project

by Steffanie Adams

INDUSTRY EXPERT

10Code and Performance Path

by Gord Cooke

INDUSTRY EXPERT

22Ontario’s Climate Change

Action Plan and What It Means

for the Housing Industry

by Michael Lio

BUILDER NEWS

14SB-12 2017 for Dummies

29What’s Driving Your

Personal Rating System

by Wendy Shami

SITE SPECIFIC

25Norm Alfonso –

Building the Best Means

Sticking to the Basics

by Alex Newman

FROM THE GROUND UP

31Radon –

What You Should Know

by Doug Tarry

FEATURE STORY

16Doing It Right

Heathwood Homes has created the best builder brand through a

simple formula of innovation, fairness and doing things the right way.

by Rob Blackstien

6

12

ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

On our cover: John Godden and Wendy Shami of Better Builder Magazine by The Art of Weddings (theartofweddings.com)

Images internally supplied unless otherwise credited.

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 20162

It’s hard to believe that Better Builder is at the end of its fifth year

of publication. The industry has seen a lot of disruptive change in

that short time, starting with the introduction of SB-12 in January

2012, followed by updates to that Code in 2015, and changes in

EnergySTAR requirements for windows and combination heating

systems. Finally, a Minister’s ruling this past July has defined SB-12

for 2017 to be 15% more efficient than 2012.

Many changes are also happening globally. In response to the

Paris Summit, the Province of Ontario has released its Climate

Change Action Plan, though it has yet to release the details of the

new platform. The devil is in the details.

How then should home builders consider the changes that

need to be made with climate change policies, new Building Code

requirements and the general uncertainty around mandatory

municipal regulations that could exceed Building Codes, such as

EnergySTAR and Net Zero?

We might do well to remember the lessons of BREXIT where

voters decided to leave the European Union without considering the

consequences, focusing only on the negative aspects of the current

arrangement; or American voters who seem to believe that Donald

Trump has their best interests in mind. The best way forward needs

to weigh all options and outcomes, incorporate flexibility and make

choices that foster self-determination – create a strategy informed

by outcomes to chart your own course.

In this issue of Better Builder, our regular contributors have

provided lots of ideas to inform your decisions moving forward.

Lou Bada discusses which prescriptive package he is choosing for

building permit applications in 2017 and why: package A1 comes at

a lower cost because insulated sheathing carries higher labour costs

and premiums. Gord Cooke navigates a discussion on performance

modelling allowed under SB-12, and demonstrates how builders can

chart their own courses and build their brands with a better-than-

Code approach. With the mandate of the Ontario Climate Change

Action Plan, Michael Lio talks about the challenge of Net Zero

housing adoption on a large scale. The feature article on Heathwood

Homes showcases one of Ontario’s most progressive builders

who has used sustainability to build their brand and become an

industry leader. Lastly, Doug Tarry provides industry leadership yet

again, this time by addressing radon in residential construction by

meeting the challenge head on. He shows us the best way to deal

with a problem that is too often ignored.

My intention with Better Builder magazine is to continue,

with the help of our contributors and advertisers, to empower our

readers with information and ideas, enabling us all to consider

other points of views and find the best way forward. Bon voyage. BB

Best Way Forward

PUBLISHERBetter Builder Magazine 63 Blair Street Toronto ON M4B 3N5 416-481-4218 | fax 416-481-4695 [email protected]

Better Builder Magazine is a sponsor of

PUBLISHING EDITORJohn B. Godden

MANAGING EDITORWendy Shami [email protected]

To advertise, contribute a story, or join our distribution list, please contact [email protected]

FEATURE WRITERSTracy Hanes, Alex Newman

PROOFREADINGKaren Hoffman

CREATIVEWallflower Design www.wallflowerdesign.com

This magazine brings together premium product manufacturers and leading builders to create better, differentiated homes and buildings that use less energy, save water and reduce our impact on the environment.

PUBLICATION NUMBER42408014

Copyright by Better Builder Magazine. Contents may not be reprinted or reproduced without written permission. The opinions expressed herein are exclusively those of the authors and assumed to be original work. Better Builder

Magazine cannot be held liable for any damage as a result of publishing such works.

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMERAll company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.

UNDELIVERABLE MAILBetter Builder Magazine 63 Blair Street Toronto ON M4B 3N5

Better Builder Magazine is published four times a year.

publisher’snote / JOHN GODDEN

John Godden

Alex Newman

Gord Cooke

Michael Lio

Lou Bada

Doug Tarry

CONTRIBUTORS

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016 3

Builders need to consider many

things when choosing a method

of Code compliance. It’s not only a

matter of building science. These are

some of the things I consider:

• Our ultimate goals

• The size and scope of a project

• Our past experiences

• The availability of products

and their track record

• The availability, expertise

and capability of the workforce

performing the work

• Our internal processes and

ability to implement changes

• The market’s perception

• The regulatory framework

• Last but not least, value

(cost vs. benefit)

Currently, we are exploring the

use of SB-12’s prescriptive package

A1 (the only package without the use

of insulated sheathing). Typically,

better mechanical equipment is

simply plug and play (and pay). On

the other hand, we’ve done a few

projects with insulated sheathing

and it is workable, although,

somewhat more complicated to use

than installing better mechanical

equipment. It requires more attention

to construction details.

Tall walls (11 feet or higher)

typically would require both a

structural sheathing and the insulated

sheathing on top. At Starlane Home

Corporation, our homes almost

always have tall walls – often 20 feet

high or more – that are quite long

and sometimes octagonal or round.

Depending on your chosen details,

foundation walls may need to be

thickened to 9 or 10 inches. To take

advantage of the sheathing as an air

barrier requires a lot of sheathing

tape. Window frames also have to be

thickened.

Cost Versus BenefitCost versus benefit is another

matter. The possibility of thicker

foundation walls, structural sheathing

requirements, installation costs and

window depths, as well as the actual

increased cost of the sheathing need to

be considered.

Builders in the Greater Toronto Area

should note that the new collective

agreement for Local 183 piecework

carpenters adds $0.11 per square foot

of wall area (plus 20 percent benefits

and contractor markup) to the cost of

insulated wall sheathing. This does not

include taping and sealing detail work.

The quality of installations in

production housing are inconsistent at

best. Installing an insulated sheathing

alone does not mean a home will be

more airtight. If a builder wants to make

use of the new trade-offs to reduce some

measures within a given package

by increasing air tightness, more

sealing work needs to be done on the

sheathing as an outboard air barrier.

More training and supervision are

definitely required, as are repair costs.

Training can be challenging in the

current environment while super-

vision and repair costs are quite high.

In our industry, simplicity is

often as important as cost. Some of

the prescribed packages are neither

simple nor inexpensive. Integral to this

discussion is the way these packages

are considered and efficiencies

calculated. We’ve hit the wall when it

comes to value for exterior envelopes,

and mechanical system efficiencies

are quickly maxing out. We are quickly

running out of tools in our tool box.

Until builders are able to calculate

rationally the energy performance

based on true occupant loads and

consumption, we will have no way of

reaching the greater efficiency goals

recently announced in the Climate

The Best Way to Build in 2017

thebadatest / LOU BADA

Ask five different builders about the best way to build and you’ll

very likely get five different opinions. Opinions are like earlobes:

everyone has them. What really matters is what informs your

opinions and your terms of reference.

That’s why it’s important to consider Ontario’s Building Code changes in SB-12

for 2017. It will have six prescribed methods for compliance for energy efficiency

in low-rise housing.

Envelope losses are a relatively small part of typical home energy consumption that have diminishing returns or savings.

(Package J 2012 @ 3.0 ACH)

32%a/c, lighting,appliances

31%envelope

heat losses

18%domestichot water

19%ventilation

losses

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 20164

Change Action Plan (CCAP). The

assumptions or defaults of occupant

loads and consumption only show half

of the equation when assessing the

best way to build prescriptively in 2017.

Essentially, it boils down to

choosing insulated sheathing for

above-grade walls versus better

mechanical equipment for heating,

ventilation and water heating.

This kind of choice is not optimal,

but necessary when considering

the prescriptive path. Getting a

building permit for the performance

path method is daunting in some

jurisdictions.

Should the next Code cycle in

five years make insulated sheathing

mandatory, my hope is that insulated

sheathing will be installed off site as

pre-fabricated panels. Hopefully, the

issues outlined here can be ironed out.

Meanwhile, with the current shortage

of trained labour and skyrocketing

costs, to be practical and effective, we

need some flexibility and rationality

to achieve our energy efficiency goals.

Let’s face it, thickening the exterior

walls with insulation also has its

practical limits.

Builders may have to use

compliance package A1 where possible.

Forcing builders – and, by default,

homebuyers – to assume costs that

make little sense either economically

or environmentally is irresponsible,

in my opinion. Changes in SB-12 will

result in significant construction cost

increases, and cost increases of the

CCAP when implemented are likely

to be tens of thousands of dollars

for new homes. Given our current

circumstances, this is how I will be

approaching SB-12 for 2017.

Let me know your approach: email

me at [email protected]. BB

Lou Bada is Vice President of Low

Rise Construction at Starlane Home

Corporation and on the board of

directors for the Residential Construction

Council of Ontario (RESCON).

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industrynews / ALE X NE WMAN

There is a solution, however. About

65% of the water we use every day – on

average about 100 gallons –goes down

the drain from our showers, baths and

toilets. Considering water rates are

expected to increase 10% annually,

there’s ample motivation for recycling

water. But Lally says conserving water

is about more than cost – increased

water use, especially in urban settings,

means very expensive maintenance

and the addition of water impacts

infrastructure as well as the energy

used to transport the water.

GWS specializes in water recycling

– rainwater, greywater and storm

water. From a plumbing perspective,

rainwater is relatively simple to

recycle because it’s collected from

the roof, is relatively clean and often

the only requirement is to transport

it to the point of use. Storm water

often contains more impurities, but

in many cities, including the GTA, it’s

often already stored in a central tank

and the only requirement is to filter and

chlorinate the water to supply toilets.

Greywater can be the most challenging

of the three because of the need to

plumb the building on the collection

and supply sides, Lally explains.

The company’s greywater systems

have been installed in high rises, com-

mercial buildings, hotels, fire halls and

even residential multi-unit buildings.

Many Ontario municipalities,

particularly very urban ones like the

City of Toronto, require mid- and high-

rise buildings to have storm retention

tanks. These tanks hold anywhere

from 40,000 to 100,000 gallons of water

that have been collected to prevent

excess flow of the city’s storm sewers

during a heavy rainfall. These tanks

have been designed to prevent peak

water flow from entering the storm

sewage system, and are big enough to

handle even torrential rains.

Due to limited infrastructure and

potential water shortages, though,

municipalities – like Markham, and

Toronto – are now looking at ways to

encourage commercial and multi-

residential properties to re-use water.

The logical thing is to recycle some of

the water from the retention tank for

use in toilets. Irrigation and cooling

towers are other options, Lally adds.

At a new LEED-designated high-rise

office building in Markham – Aviva’s

head office – the goal was to try it

out. Greyter Water installed a smaller

second tank of 400-gallon capacity,

which draws off rain water from the

storm retention tank, chlorinates it

to eliminate bacteria and reuses the

water in the toilets. As Lally explains,

its wasteful to treat the large storm

retention tank to chlorinate so the

smaller tank allows for water to be

drawn off, treated, and re-used.

The smaller tank can come with

a pump, or in the case of Aviva, be

connected to a third-party pump. In

municipalities that do not already have

a storm water collection requirement,

commercial or high rise residential

buildings would need to install a storm

retention tank in addition to the re-use

system. One advantage of greywater in

this situation is that the constant supply

of water from showers means that the

storage needs for reuse in toilets can be

small, enough for a daily supply.

Once the building is plumbed in,

it’s relatively inexpensive to install

the equipment – about $50,000 in a

mid-size 100-unit building, and with

installation another $15,000. The

biggest cost is often the plumbing,

Lally adds.

Water, Water, Every Where, Nor Any Drop to Drink

Paraic Lally’s aim isn’t to be a harbinger of doom, but he can see the

impending challenges when it comes to the issue of global water shortages.

“The world’s water supply remains the same, but the population has

tripled, and the demand for water has increased by six,” says the VP of business

development for Greyter Water Systems (GWS) in Toronto. “By 2050 at least 60

countries will be feeling the water shortage, and in five years, 36 US states will

experience water shortages.”

Typical commercial greywater system.

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

These systems are easier to

incorporate into new buildings than

trying to retrofit old buildings. All too

often, though, high rises are built the

same they always have been because

of the cost of the additional plumbing.

It you’re roughing-in a building to

allow for water re-use down the

road, you’d need to incorporate two

separate lines, one to feed non-

potable fixtures – toilets, irrigation,

e.g. – and one for drinking water.

Currently, condos are typically

built with eight units per floor with

bathrooms located back to back –

there would be four plumbing runs

top to bottom and the layout would

handle both drain and supply. In

order to retrofit an existing high rise,

or to build new, there needs to be

double the pipes so regular drain

water (greywater) is separate from

toilets (black water). And that is often

cost prohibitive, Lally points out.

“Down the road, there’s potential

to treat both the greywater and

black water because the technology

is already there to take either water

and recycle it without changing the

plumbing,” Lally says. “But this is

unlikely unless we face extreme

shortages. The problem is the ‘ick’

factor – people recoil at the thought

of drinking water that’s been through

the toilet.”

Even now, people can have a

concern about greywater in their

toilet, Lally says. That’s why you

often see water in toilets dyed blue in

commercial buildings – it’s recycled

water that appears clean.

How receptive to water recycling is the industry?Chris Thompson, Co-founder and

CTO for GWS, says receptivity

depends a lot on early adopters.

“Every day we work with architects,

designers and contractors who are

drawn to the affordability of our

solutions but they are also very

motivated by the environmental

savings relating to managing water

more efficiently,” says Thompson.

“They want to be leaders.”

While most people’s decisions are

still driven largely by money, “there’s

a group of people out there motivated

by sustainability and it’s a group that’s

growing,” he adds, “especially in areas

where water supply is seriously low.

People begin to understand that water

doesn’t flow endlessly from the tap.”

Municipalities with low water

resources are so committed to finding

ways to use water better – reduced

consumption as well as recycling

– they’re coming up with both

regulations and incentives to ensure

better decision-making.

In areas where the supply is

not immediately threatened – like

Toronto – there’s less incentive to find

solutions. Especially when there’s no

immediate financial benefit, like for

condo developers who turn over the

building to a condo board, after it’s

developed and built.

However, limited water infrastruc-

ture is becoming a major challenge

in Toronto and with the prohibitive

cost of adding new infrastructure, the

city has mandated that new buildings

won’t get approved unless they have

the capacity to at least deal with the

storm water issue, and in particular

the flooding of the city’s storm sewers.

What percentage of efficiency can be realized by switching to a greywater system? Currently, in the US, a water efficiency

scale is being developed that roughly

corresponds to the HERS energy scale,

and Thompson thinks we’ll start

seeing combinations of both HERS and

WERS (Water Efficiency Rating Scale)

in new construction.

“Water is a bit more challenging

[than energy] because there are

more variables,” he says. Since most

interior household water is used in

the bathroom, installing low flow

toilets and efficient showerheads can

lead to big reduction in consumption

levels. Reusing shower and bath

water for toilet flushing can reduce a

household’s water consumption by a

further 20-25%. GWS will soon launch

a single family residential greywater

system to meet this need.

What’s the biggest challenge we face in the fight to lower water consumption?“Looking short term,” Thompson

says. “If you want two-year payback,

7

“There’s a group of

people out there

motivated by sustain­

ability and it’s a

group that’s growing.”

Aviva’s head office in Markham uses storm and greywater for toilet flushing.

RE

ND

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ING

BY

QU

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RA

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ITE

CT

S

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 20168

greywater won’t do it. But if you’re

okay with something that will

increase over time, and last the life of

the building, then greywater recycling

makes sound financial sense.”

Less than 1% of buildings

currently have some kind of water

re-use system. Thompson says this

mirrors the energy situation of 20

years ago – nobody was interested

in putting money into it. And now

virtually everyone is aware of the

need to reduce. “I think that’s the way

water efficiency will go, especially

now that some locales are in a

desperate situation,” he says.

Multi-use residential buildings

represent the highest potential for

water saving because so many people

are flushing so many toilets. But there’s

a disconnect between the builder and

the end user, who has more interest

in keeping utility bills down. That

changes when a developer builds rental

and intends to remain as landlord.

It’s going to be up to municipalities

to take the lead on creating incentives

for water efficiency, Thompson says. In

San Francisco, for example, buildings

over 40,000 square feet are required

to be greywater ready. “But that’s

California and there’s a desperation

there because they have no water.

In a situation like that, it’s extremely

easy to make the case for plugging in a

system.”

In Toronto, retention tanks or 50%

flow reduction are mandatory, and if

a developer re-uses water they qualify

for development charge reductions.

“Developers tend to go for the cheapest

reuse options, commonly irrigation

first. If that doesn’t work, maybe a

cooling tower, and then greywater.

Commercial and institutional clients

often want to make a ‘sustainability

statement’ and go for toilets,” Lally says.

The bottom line is it doesn’t make

any sense to flush good potable water

down the drain. BB

Alex Newman is a writer, editor and

researcher at www.alexnewmanwriter.com.

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BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 201610

industryexpert / GORD COOKE

First, the number of prescriptive

packages is down, reflecting the

fact that it is getting tougher to

find significant, cost-effective

incremental energy improvements

through simple changes to insulation

levels or mechanical equipment

specifications. Second, there is a not-

so-subtle mention of air tightness,

with the supporting documents of

SB-12 hinting that in future Code

iterations, air tightness testing will

be mandatory. In this iteration, there

is at least a series of helpful trade-

offs for builders who do a good job of

air leakage control. These first two

trends support what I consider to be

the most important change to SB-12:

the clarifications and emphasis on

the “Performance Path” and “Other

Acceptable Compliance Methods”

sections of SB-12.

In the same way that the

International Energy Conservation

Code 2015 in the US and the

National Building Code of Canada

2010 (section 9.36) have moved to a

more objective, performance path

based on energy modeling, the new

SB-12 demonstrates a compelling

opportunity for builders to work with

their Energy Advisor to find the most

cost-effective way of meeting the new

Code requirements. In this new SB-12,

not only is there a stronger reference

to EnergySTAR for New Homes

and R-2000 as being Alternative

Methods, there is also a more clearly

defined Performance Path that gives

builders flexibility to show compliance

using any one of six different energy

simulation software programs against

a “reference” home.

In my opinion, any builder who

is truly looking for the most cost-

effective way to build a home that

adheres to basic building science

principles for a safe, healthy, durable,

comfortable and efficient home will

use the Performance Path.

The table below (Figure 1) may help

demonstrate why I think the

Performance Path will be the most

cost-effective approach. Let’s compare

incremental costs versus incremental

energy savings of changes needed

within the Prescriptive Path to get

from the most commonly used Package

J in the 2012 version to what many

project to be the most popular package

in the 2017 version, Package A1.

Notice in the table, that the least

effective upgrade is the attic insulation

at over $500 per GJ saved. We are

clearly seeing the diminishing returns

of adding insulation to ceilings. Note,

too, that controlling air leakage rates to

current EnergySTAR levels is more cost

effective than adding attic insulation

Code and Performance Path

In the last issue, my article mentioned that the draft of the Ontario

Building Code Supplementary Standard SB-12 Energy Efficiency

requirements for January 2017 had come out. Indeed, in the ensuing

weeks, the final version of SB-12 for 2017 has been made public and there are some

compelling trends to discuss.

FIGURE 1OBC 2012Package J

OBC 2017Package A1

Estimated Incremental Cost

GJ /yr Savings

ATTIC R50 R60 $400 0.795

WALLS R22 NominalR22 Nominal

R17.83 Effective— —

BASEMENTS R12 NominalR20 c.i. Nominal R21.12 Effective

$450 2.2

WINDOWS U – 1.8 U -1.6 or ER 25 $1000 5.36

FURNACE94%

(Sensible %)96%

(Sensible %)$250 0.915

HRV 65% 75% $150 1.64

DHW 0.67 EF 0.8 EF Rental 2.89

AIR TIGHTNESS

Although not a requirement, under Performance Path, the reference

house is assumed to be 3.0 ACH50. The impact of 2.5 ACH is:

Cost of air test $250

3.3

The costs are my estimates, from my experience. Readers of this article will have a much better idea of your actual costs and I encourage you to do a full analysis and then I am

confident you will work closely with your supply partners to ensure a fair and equitable price.

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

and increasing basement insulation combined.

I think air tightness is a critical aspect. Section

9.25.3 Air Barriers of the Code identifies 16 separate air

sealing measures with words such as “shall be sealed,”

“continuous barrier to air leakage” and “maintain

integrity of the air barrier over the entire surface.”

These words, in my opinion are both a risk and an

opportunity. If you do them well, you will achieve air

tightness levels well below the 3.0 ACH50 hinted at in

the Code at very low cost. If you don’t do them well

and you don’t test for air tightness, you are at risk from

any homeowner who feels even the slightest draft

around an electrical outlet or under a baseboard. In

other words, smart builders across North America are

doing air tightness testing anyway, as both a quality

assurance measure and a risk mitigation measure.

Now, under the new SB-12, you can get very cost-

effective energy credits for doing it if you use the

Performance Path.

Air leakage control is just one aspect of making

sound decisions in light of the Code change. Using

the Performance Path encourages builders to better

evaluate windows to optimize both summer and

winter comfort performance while, at the same

time, being able to “right-size” your furnace and air

conditioner sizing to optimize costs. The Performance

Path can also help you find better ways to insulate

basements to avoid moisture issues. It is my sincere

opinion that the new Code tips the scales in favour of

using an integrated design and performance-testing

approach to ensure healthier, safer, more comfortable,

more efficient and more durable homes, all in a more

cost-effective way. BB

Gord Cooke is president of Building Knowledge Canada.

11

Roof truss and woodsill connection.

Simpson Strong TieMGT system shown

Drywall screwedinto amvicpolypropylene webs as per building code

Electricaloutlet

Wood sub-floorinstalled as perlocal building

Simpson strong tieICFLC and wood floorjoists connection

Amvic insulatingconcrete forms

Amdeck floor &roof system

Exterior woodsiding installed

as per localbuilding code

Amvic highimpact

polypropylenewebs

Acrylic,standard

ptucco or eifsapplied to

exterior faceof Amvic ICF

Brick veneer

Parge face ofexposed

brick ledge

Grade

Peel-and-stickwaterproofingmembrane (or

equivalent)as per local

building code

Perforatedweeping tile

INSULATEDCONCRETE FORMS

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:

AMVIC.COM

Smart builders across

North America are doing air

tightness testing anyway, as

both quality assurance and

risk mitigation measures.

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 201612

industrynews / STEFFANIE ADAMS

The question of how to get to the

next generation EnergySTAR in a

production environment is key to

Empire Communities’ brand and this

pilot project. GBC will monitor wall

assemblies in two of Empire’s homes

located in Breslau, Ontario to help

evaluate their capacity to manage the

movement of heat and moisture

effectively. GBC’s Building Science

Research team includes Dr. P.

Christopher Timusk, Steffanie Adams,

Dahai Zhang and students Evan May,

James Henderson and Taras Yavorskyi.

The team previously monitored Doug

Tarry’s Optimum Basement Wall in the

Discovery Home in the same capacity:

to verify the field performance and

effectiveness of their basement wall

system. The team is uniquely posi-

tioned to continue their research in

monitoring better basement systems.

Current Ontario Building Code

regulations allow for the installation

of roll-down blanket insulation in

unfinished basements, comprised of

a 6 mil polyethylene vapour barrier

with fibreglass batt attached. It is

typically mechanically fastened at the

top of the basement wall using staples

and a metal strap at mid height of the

basement wall. Nominal R-values are

met but effective R-values have yet to

be determined. Empire Communities

would like to demonstrate that their

system would not only meet current

OBC regulations but also provide a

more durable, sustainable and cost

effective solution to the industry.

Each home in this pilot project will

be constructed with wall assemblies

(both above and below grade) that

meet different standard levels and

OBC regulations. The individual

wall assemblies in each home will

be compared in terms of material

thickness and material properties.

The GBC research team will

Empire Communities, the 2015 Ontario Home Builder of the Year and 2013

Green Builder of the year, has been a pioneer for the EnergySTAR Initiative

for Ontario Communities for over 12 years. In partnership with Clearsphere,

Roxul®, Dow and George Brown College (GBC), Empire has set out to improve the

quality of homes constructed in Ontario with a pilot project focused on building

better basement systems.

The hybrid house research team, left to right: Evan May, James Henderson, Steffanie Adams,

Steve Doty (Empire) and Dahai Zhang.Empire CommunitiesBest Research and Development Project

Three Energy Efficient Test Houses

Near-ZeroHybrid

EnergySTAR(Current)

EnergySTARPlus

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

monitor the below grade wall

assembly of Empire’s Hybrid House

and their EnergySTAR + Home.

The two homes will be constructed

using different systems of insulating

below-grade wall assemblies and

will be compared to a control wall

made of roll-down blanket insulation.

The Hybrid House will be insulated

to R-20 using 2" Dow Styrofoam

Cladmate™ CM20 that is mechanically

fastened to the concrete foundation

wall followed by 2.5" of ROXUL®’s

COMFORTBOARD™ fastened with

plasgood washers. The EnergySTAR +

Home will be insulated to R-15.5

using 1.5" Dow Styrofoam Cladmate™

CM20 that is mechanically fastened

to the concrete foundation wall.

Inboard of the Dow Cladmate™,

2" of ROXUL COMFORTBOARD™ will

be fastened with plasgood washers.

GBC’s research team will install

temperature, moisture content,

and relative humidity sensors at

critical locations throughout the wall

assembly and in the soil for analysis.

The team is interested in

collecting data on the performance

of the control wall. Specifically,

roll-down blanket insulation has

been observed to collect moisture

within the fiberglass batt and on

the 6 mil polyethylene. The vapour-

impermeable 6 mil polyethylene

makes it difficult for moisture from

the soil or concrete foundation to dry

inward. Comparing the data obtained

from the control wall to Empire’s

Dow and ROXUL®’s below-grade wall

assembly system will help establish

that insulating using Empire’s wall

assembly prototype is more effective

in controlling moisture and heat flow.

The research team will also

monitor above-grade wall assemblies

in Empire’s Hybrid House and their

EnergySTAR + Home. The two homes

will be constructed using the same

insulating material. Both homes will

be insulated using Dow Styrofoam™

Cladmate XL™ insulated exterior

sheathing with taped joints and

ROXUL COMFORTBATT® in the 2x6

stud cavity. These two homes will

be compared in terms of thermal

resistance. The Hybrid Home will be

insulated to a nominal value of R-31.5

and the EnergyPLUS + Home will be

insulated to a nominal value of R-29.

Both above-grade wall assemblies

will be monitored and data collected

and analyzed on heat flow and moist-

ure control to determine the effective-

ness of insulating to R-31.5 over R-29.

This two-year project begins in the

summer of 2016 and the team will

collect and transmit the data remotely

for analysis for the duration of at least a

full heating and cooling cycle, enabling

assessment of the durability and

performance of the Empire basement

wall system. BB

Steffanie Adams,

Principal, ARKI

Design Group

13

RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND TEMPERATURE

PIN MOISTURE CONTENT AND TEMPERATURE

DUFF MOISTURE CONTENT AND TEMPERATURE

2" DOW STYROFOAM™ CLADMATE™

CM20 INSULATION WITH

2.5" ROXUL COMFORTBOARD™

INSULATION ATTACHED WITH

PLASGOOD WASHERS AS PER

MANUFACTURERS’ SPECIFICATIONS

1" DOW FROTHPAK INSULATION

WITH 5.5" ROXUL COMFORTBATT™

INSULATION AT RIM JOIST

STANDARD EXTERIOR WALL

CONSTRUCTION PER UNIT

WORKING DRAWING

WEEP HOLES @ 2'-8" (800mm)

O/C HORIZONTAL AND

CONTINUOUS FLASHING

EXTERIOR INTERIOR

FIN GRADE

FIN FIRST FLOOR

TOP OF SLAB

HYBRID HOUSE WALL TYPE 1 – Below Grade Wall Sensor LocationHybrid house composite basement wall system with moisture and temperature probes.

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 201614

buildernews

Notes

1 6 Packages

2 A1 is the only choice without

continuous insulated sheathing

3 A4 Combo Heating Package

Furnace @ 96% AFUE + DHWH @

EF=0.67 is equivalent to condensing

combination unit @ 90%

4 Mandatory DWHR on two drains

5 Mandatory HRVs above minimum

65% @ 30 L/s

6 Trade offs for air tightness @ 2.5

ACH; NLR or NLA can be used

7 Effective R-values for insulation

SB-12 2017 for Dummies

ZONE 1 COMPLIANCE PACKAGE FOR SPACE HEATING EQUIPMENT WITH AFUE ≥ 92%

COMPONENTCOMPLIANCE PACKAGE

2012 PACKAGE J A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6

CEILING WITH ATTIC SPACE R50 R60 R60 R50 R60 R50 R60

CEILING WITHOUT ATTIC SPACE R31 R31 R31 R31 R31 R31 R31

EXPOSED FLOOR R31 R31 R31 R35 R31 R35 R31

WALLS ABOVE GRADE R22 R22 R19 + 5 R14 + 7.5ci R22 + 5ci R19 + 5ci R22 + 5ci

BASEMENT WALLS R12 R20ci R12 + 10ci R20ci R20ci R12 + 5ci R20ci

BELOW GRADE SLAB > 600 MM — — — — — — —

HEATED SLAB OR SLAB ≤ 600 MM 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

EDGE OF SLAB ≤ 600 MM 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

WINDOWS AND SLIDING GLASS DOORS 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6

SKYLIGHTS 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8

SPACE HEATING94%

AFUE96%

AFUE96%

AFUE94%

AFUE96%

AFUE94%

AFUE92%

AFUE

HRV/ERV (SENSIBLE EFFICIENCY) 60% 75% 75% 81% 75% 70% 65%

DHW 0.67 0.8 0.7 0.67 0.67 0.8 0.8

DWHR (ON ALL OR MINIMUM TWO SHOWERS)

— 42% 42% 42% 42% 42% 42%

ACH DEFAULT (DETACHED) 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 201616

Doing It Rightfeaturestory / ROB BL ACKSTIEN

Doing It R

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016 17

This attitude manifests in Heath-

wood’s approach with its customers, its

trades, its suppliers and beyond.

First launched in 1977 as Heron

Homes (named after one of its

partners, Hugh Heron, who has

become a building industry icon), the

company also created the Heathwood

brand 25 years ago. Alspector says

the parent company is currently

undergoing another rebranding, from

Heron Group to Herity; Heathwood

Homes is a division of that group.

“There’s a lot of history” in this

brand, he says.

Sustainability and building energy

efficient homes have long been staples

for Heathwood, dating back to the

Heathwood subdivision in 1981, a

high-end site that included heat pumps

as standard fare.

“That was some pioneering,”

Alspector says of this venture, a move

that gas provider Enbridge – concerned

that it wasn’t going to make enough

money from these homes – took issue

Doing It RightHeathwood Homes has created the best builder

brand through a simple formula of innovation,

fairness and doing things the right way.

When it comes to developing a brand that’s built on putting

customers first, there are countless companies that talk the

talk. But finding those that actually walk the walk is only

slightly rarer than Halley’s Comet sightings.

That’s what sets Heathwood Homes – our choice for Best Brand – apart from

the pack. This Toronto-area builder has fostered its reputation over nearly four

decades, not only creating the highest quality homes and being a pioneer in energy

efficiency, but also maintaining a simple philosophy of “fairness above everything

else,” says Sheldon Alspector, a long-time company principal.

Doing It R

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 201618

with. When it came time to put the

lines in, Enbridge wanted the builder

to pay for the infrastructure, normally

a free service for developers.

“The loss in revenue from

decreased gas consumption means

the utility’s capital costs could not be

covered,” Alspector explains.

Going the Extra MileGoing the extra mile for its customers

has always been the Heathwood way,

and a huge part of how its brand has

become so revered.

“We work hard to make people

happy,” he says.

That philosophy is demonstrated

best when issues crop up, regardless

of who, ultimately, may be at fault.

When something bad happens, “we

try to go above and beyond to satisfy

them, even though we may strongly

feel that we’re right and they’re

wrong,” Alspector explains.

For instance, the final 10 houses

in Heathwood Homes’ Brampton

site recently got caught up in some

trade strikes, specifically drywallers.

He says the company was not legally

obligated to do anything for those

people, but opted to help compensate

for the delay.

Why would Heathwood do that?

It’s pretty simple, Alspector says. “It

was the right thing to do.”

Similarly, a few years ago, the

window company Heathwood was

using in its Milton project went

bankrupt and if service was needed,

there was no warranty for those

homeowners.

“We took it upon ourselves to

extend the existing coverage as if they

were still in business,” he says.

Don’t Say NoAlspector, who started with the

company in 1981 after stints with

Sanbury Homes and Menkes, and now

heads up Herity Group’s construction

needs, says he empowers his

employees by allowing them to bend

as much as possible for homebuyers.

In fact, they are not allowed to say no;

if they believe a “no” is warranted in

any given situation, they have to come

to him.

By saying yes more times than not,

the company builds relationships and

long-time customers, Alspector says.

When developing your brand,

builders looking to follow in

Heathwood’s footsteps should heed

their advice, because – as Alspector

says – people’s expectations today are

generally very, very high and you have

to be prepared to deliver.

Builders must be “honourable and

honest and up front,” he says. Further,

you better have a great product and

stand behind it.

“People are not going to take

garbage. You have to deliver quality

and you have to give them great, not

good, after-sales service,” Alspector

advises.

To Heathwood, a brand is more

than a marketing slogan. It’s not

just words – a brand needs to have

legitimate substance and a palpable

philosophy behind it to the point that

people realize: ‘I’m being treated

differently.’

Because of the company’s

unwavering belief in fairness, “we

sleep at night.”

Alspector

says Amvic’s

Silverboard

sheeting “is

a superior

product” that

they prefer

over aspenite.

Heathwood green demo home in 2010 included monitoring and greywater recycling.

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016 19

Lifelong PartnersThis approach extends to its suppliers and subcontractors,

many of whom have been working with the company from

its inception.

Two of Heathwood’s newer partners are Amvic and

Panasonic. Alspector says Amvic’s Silverboard sheeting

“is a superior product” that they prefer over aspenite.

Panasonic, meanwhile, provides bathroom fans that “are

much better than the competition.”

In an effort to measure energy conservation features

and create homes that go vastly beyond Building Code

specifications, Heathwood has taken the Better Than Code

program (betterthancode.ca) and used it as a basis for its

own green initiative, Heathwood Energy Program.

The benefit to homeowners of this approach is clear,

Alspector says. “Our home – depending on the features we

include – could be 20 percent better or more efficient than

the other. In other words, if you’re going to pay $3,000 in

your utility bills every year, it would be $600 a year cheaper

in our home.”

With a deep rooted tradition in energy efficiency and

Energy Star homes, Heathwood Homes continues to seek

out emerging technologies and opportunities to better its

processes.

Constantly Improving“We look to improve every day,” Alspector says. “We

like working with experts; we don’t pretend to know

everything.”

He says the company tries to pick experts’ brains and

look at various suppliers to see what new products and

materials they have available to help improve processes.

“As new technologies come to fruition, we like to look

at those closely and when they’re proven commodities, we

like to take the jump and get involved,” Alspector says.

That spirit of innovation led Heathwood Homes to built

a demonstration green home in Richmond Hill about seven

years ago. The company enlisted Ryerson University, which

did a comparison of that home with all its energy efficient

features (such as greywater and several other cutting-edge

concepts) and a similar home without them.

“We try to take advantage of the things we learned

then,” Alspector says. As a result, many of the trials

employed in that home are now standard fare in

Heathwood Homes, and that means a Heathwood-built

house is future proof to an extent by having items such as

solar rough-in.”

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 201620

Back in the day, he explains,

building extras like that into homes

was a challenge because there were

price ceilings you had to stay below,

so even an additional $5,000 stuck

out. But today, Heathwood puts those

extra dollars in the home, not only in

the form of energy features but also

quality products and finishes.

For instance, Forest Hill on the

Green, Heathwood’s sold-out site in

Richmond Hill, includes 113 single

family homes on 43- and 50-foot lots

that feature nine-foot basements,

10-foot main floors and nine-foot

second floors. Other premium items

include Roxul thermal insulated

sheathing board, insulation under

basement concrete floors and solar

and greywater rough-ins.

Word of MouthSo successful was this development

that the homes sold out without

the need of a grand opening. Then

again, perhaps that’s not surprising

considering how much referral

business Heathwood enjoys given its

sterling record.

“You get a lot of word of mouth

people who have lived in our homes

over the years,” Alspector explains.

Another big part of Heathwood’s

philosophy involves giving back

to the community, nowhere more

clearly evidenced than by its main

philanthropic initiative, The Mikey

Network. Named after one of

Heathwood’s late partners, the charity

places public access defibrillators in

high-risk locations, an endeavour that

has already saved at least 32 lives,

Alspector says.

Heathwood’s tagline is “Home at

Last,” a phrase that represents “the big

sigh (of contentment)... ‘this is home.’”

It’s a feeling that Heathwood

customers have now become well

acquainted with for nearly two-fifths

of a century. BB

Rob Blackstien is

a Toronto-based

freelance writer.

Pen-Ultimate.ca

“You get a lot of word

of mouth people

who have lived in our

homes over the years,”

Alspector explains.

Silvio Longo (above left) and Rocco Longo below and above grade. Left: All basements at Forest Hill have Roxul to reduce moisture problems. Right: Heathwood uses Amvic Silverboard insulated sheathing instead of OSB.

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 201622

industryexpert / M ICHAEL L IO

Recently, the Ontario govern-

ment released its Climate

Change Action Plan (CCAP)

that included signals that changes

are coming for Ontario’s housing

industry. The CCAP states:

• Electric-vehicle-ready homes:

Ontario will require all new homes

and townhomes with garages to

be constructed with a 50-amp,

240-volt receptacle (plug) in the

garage for the purpose of charging

an electric vehicle.

• Near Net Zero Carbon Home

Incentive: Rebates will go to

individuals who purchase or

build their own near net zero

carbon emission homes, with

energy efficiency performance

that sufficiently exceeds the

requirements of the Building Code.

• Update the Building Code: The

government will update the

Building Code with long-term

energy efficiency targets for new

net zero carbon emission small

buildings that will come into effect

by 2030 at the latest, and consult

on initial changes that will be

effective by 2020.

Let’s consider each of these

proposals separately. Let’s also

consider the challenges that may lay

ahead for the industry.

The CCAP suggests an action start

date of January 2018 for new homes

to be equipped with electric vehicle

chargers in the garage and a 50 amp

breaker box. Level 2 electric charging

stations will be required on a 240

volt outlet which can fully charge

a vehicle in four to six hours. The

home building industry should have

little trouble running a heavier gauge

electrical conduit to the garage from a

50 amp service. The vehicle plug and

breaker box will certainly add cost for

the builder that will be passed on to

the homebuyer.

All of these vehicles charging at

the same time may cause issues for

the grid. As homeowners plug in their

electric cars, probably just before

dinner time, the local distribution

company will likely need to think about

what this new load might mean for its

grid. Smart grids that can manage the

loads will become vitally important.

The CCAP’s “near net zero

carbon emission homes” (NNZCEH)

proposal raises a number of questions.

Recognize that the CCAP doesn’t refer

to homes that are “net zero energy.”

While the intended meaning of

NNZCEH has not been fully explained,

the way the CCAP reads suggests that

ordering the home’s power from a

“green electricity” supplier may mean

that your home could qualify. In fact,

houses in Quebec would, for the most

part, qualify under this definition.

The Climate Change Action Plan

will eventually need to define what it

considers to be “near net zero carbon

emissions.” It will need to decide on

how “near” is “near.” Can builders

decide for themselves how close to

zero they get? Many details are clearly

missing from the CCAP that can have

a tremendous impact on builders. The

government will need to establish a

NNZCEH standard to protect buyers

and to guide builders. At buildABILITY,

our work with production builders

across Canada suggests that without a

near net zero industry standard, what

buyers get as “near net zero” could vary

considerably.

In our net zero energy work, we

used NRCan’s definition for “net zero

energy homes”: a net zero energy home

(NZEH) means a home that produces

as much energy as it consumes over

the course of a year. We used the

EnerGuide Rating System to model

and rate the homes. We used NRCan’s

baseloads and HOT2000 to model

the photovoltaics on the roof tops.

Of course, we could have used other

approaches that could do a better

job in modelling reality. What was

important was that home buyers got an

“as-modelled NZEH” product that was

treated in the same manner regardless

of region or home builder.

There are many technical

challenges that builders will need

to overcome in order to successfully

build an NZEH. A typical NZEH spec

is shown in Figure 1. Some of the

challenges relate to the availability

of components while others relate

to how components are integrated.

For instance, attaching siding to

exterior insulated sheathings that

are two or three inches thick will

Ontario’s Climate Change Action Planand What it Means for the Housing Industry

The Climate Change

Action Plan will

eventually need to

define what it considers

to be “near net zero

carbon emissions.”

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

present challenges, as will achieving

envelope air tightness levels that are

less than 1.0 air changes. Sourcing

the advanced heat pump space and

water heaters today could also prove

difficult, and rooftop PV, as a new

system with a new set of trades, will

need to be integrated into the home

building process and schedule.

Undoubtedly, builders will be able to

overcome each of these challenges,

but, it will take incentives, training

and time.

Some municipalities are talking

about requiring NZEHs as part of

their community energy plans. This,

of course, would vary from the CCAP

call for NNZCEH. Any municipal

requirement would be forced on

developers through various land

approval instruments. Municipalities

and developers should realize that not

every home will easily qualify as net

zero energy, if the roof and sun are

misaligned. Developers should also

know that a net zero energy require-

ment could add $60,000 to $80,000 to

the cost of a Code-built house.

Before forcing developers to build

NZEHs, municipalities will need

to ensure that the local electricity

distribution companies (LDCs) will

allow builders to connect to the grid.

Grids that have traditionally been

one-way highways will need to be

realigned to accommodate two-way

traffic. A site with a few hundred

NZEHs would act like a small power

plant when the sun shines. For local

distribution companies, this will be a

significant challenge if the municipal

plans, and the CCAP, is to be realized.

Here’s what I think we need:

1. Governments (federal, provincial,

and municipal) need to define

precisely the target they wish to

reach – net zero energy, emissions,

near zero. One target, please. A time

frame would also be useful. 2030 is

a huge challenge, but achievable if

governments and utilities align and

work together. Make the target date

explicit. A construction standard is

necessary so there is consistency in

what buyers receive from builders.

2. Aligned, well-funded, voluntary

programs are fundamental to the

needed market transformation.

Utilities need to align well-funded

demonstration programs over

the next five years as precursors

to mass market programs.

Demonstration programs should

morph into aligned mass market

incentive programs over the

subsequent five years. See Figure 1

for clues on what to incent.

3. Government and utilities should

invest heavily in builder and,

more importantly, trades training.

Builder sales and marketing

training would also be useful.

4. Local distribution companies need

to transform themselves from

passive wire watchers to smart

grid operators. They can facilitate

the transformation by aggressively

investing in distributed generation

at the community and individual

homeowner level.

5. Municipalities can help

homeowners finance the purchase

of rooftop PVs and on-counter

energy displays. For existing

housing, this may be a better

economic choice than supporting

costly and technically difficult

energy retrofits.

Net zero energy housing is

technically feasible for production

builders in this country. We spent four

years working through the details to

be able to demonstrate just that. We

also learned NZEH is hard. It is fraught

with challenges and, of course, with

rewards. When I describe our NZEH

work to lay people, their faces instantly

light up. The concept is so easy to

understand. Cool, they say, a house

that on an annual basis uses no energy.

Cool, indeed! BB

Michael Lio is president of buildABILITY

Corporation. [email protected]

23

FIGURE 1

CEILING R60

MAIN WALLS R24 + R10 XPS

BASEMENT WALLS R12 + R15 XPS

EXPOSED FLOOR R40 + R5 XPS

UNDERSLAB R10 XPS

WINDOWS U0.9

HRV 75%

SPACE HEATINGAIR SOURCE HEAT PUMP

9.57 HSPF WITH ELECTRIC FURNACE BACKUP

WATER HEATINGHYBRID HEAT PUMP WATER HEATER

@ 2.45 EF + DRAIN WATER HEAT RECOVERY

AIR TIGHTNESS 1.0 ACH @ 50 Pa

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

It was the late 1970s and Bramalea

Construction was about the biggest

thing going – Afonso applied for and

was hired as assistant site foreman,

but moved into labour because it

paid better and would help to finance

his return to school. He ended up

staying several years before moving

on to Daniels Corporation, as site

supervisor for almost a decade.

From there, he went to Berkshire

Homes, first as site supervisor, then

construction manager. Afonso then

struck out on his own to do custom

renovations for a short time – it didn’t

last because he found homeowners

were fast becoming “experts” who

challenged every decision, thanks to

Google. It was wearing, he says.

He knew about Empire Commu-

nities, having met CEO Paul Golini

through the Green Building Council.

He submitted his resume on a Wednes-

day and was called on the Thursday.

He started with Empire as site super-

visor but within a few months was

promoted to construction manager.

“They’re a good company,” Afonso

says. “I already knew it, but now have

experienced it firsthand. They’re very

serious about what they are doing,

and want to do things well. So far, I’ve

seen them deliver on everything they

say they’ll do.”

Golini, he’s found, is very

concerned about sustainability – all

homes are EnergySTAR compliant

– and he recognizes the value of

training and holding on to young

people. Afonso has three assistants,

all recent graduates from college

programs for the industry. “They’re

very knowledgeable and eager,

just not experienced yet. It’s a

very youthful culture at Empire.”

The site he is currently managing

– Mt. Pleasant Lakeside in north

Brampton – is large at 750 units.

About half have been completed and

turned over to the customer, and the

remaining 380 are under construction.

“It’s a big site,” Afonso admits.

“Maintaining order and managing

the logistics of a lot of people coming

and going is definitely a challenge.

Like keeping the site clean – imagine

300 tradespeople having breakfast

and lunch – that’s a lot of garbage to

control. And I’m not counting the

garbage generated by the general

public – they come by after hours and

dump stuff on site.”

Afonso has a fairly basic code of

conduct for his tradespeople on-site:

don’t throw garbage around, wear

construction shoes and hat, be decent

to each other.

Organization is important when

managing a construction site this

size, he says. But more important is

“understanding how a site functions,

so that you can anticipate what’s ahead

and keep the trades on schedule.”

Every housing site starts with

surveyors, followed by excavation, and

only then can trades be scheduled in.

Most large sites do phases of 80 or 90

houses at a time, and the homes that

close first get built first. Much depends

on a well-organized head office, since

there’s a lot of information and paper-

work involved in building a house.

A typical work day starts around

7:00 am, when he holds a daily

production meeting to review with

staff and trades what needs to be

accomplished that day. This includes

tasks not completed the day before.

After that, Afonso conducts walk-

throughs on site to see who is there, at

what stage each house is, and whether

the site is meeting health and safety

requirements. All this takes two or three

hours, then he heads back to the office

to calculate what needs to be done the

following day, and calls the relevant

trades and foremen to fill them in.

Staying on schedule is probably the

most important role of a construction

manager. “Once the project is up and

running,” Afonso says, “especially one

this size, there are a lot of trades to keep

track of – 42 crews of carpenters, 15

crews of bricklayers. So you’re always

trying to be two or three days ahead.”

Building the Best bySticking to the Basics

sitespecific / ALE X NE WMAN

As a student, Norm Afonso thought he’d go all the way, earn a PhD

and pursue a life in academia. After completing his Bachelor of Arts

in literature, however, he decided to take a break from school and

“make some money.” As it turned out, working with his electrician father for the

summer made him feel “useful” and he never returned to university.

25

“Maintaining order and

managing the logistics

of a lot of people

coming and going is

definitely a challenge.”

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 201626

It’s why he often calls Friday nights

to make sure trades will be there on

Monday because while most trades

are reliable, “when they don’t show

up, a site can go very wrong.”

But a manager also needs to be

creative and flexible. “If you get too

rigid about timing, and not factor

in screw-ups, weather, accidents,

or someone not showing up, you

won’t accomplish much except drive

yourself crazy.”

What sorts of better building practices

have you picked up along the way?

“I don’t like wasting anything,”

Afonso says. “So I try to use less

lumber and re-use lumber where

possible. There’s always a way to do a

job that generates less waste.”

The first priority, though, is to

achieve the most comfortable home

possible, one with a tight envelope

complemented by proper ventilation.

Since all Mt. Pleasant Lakeside homes

are EnergySTAR, they’re prepped before

rough-in with beefed-up insulation,

keeping an eye on trouble areas, such as

behind the tub. They use a high quality

foam insulation which penetrates the

exterior envelope very well. “Down the

road, this makes a home’s interior air

quality very comfortable and it saves

on utility bills,” he says.

Every Empire home is tested

before purchasers take possession.

Clearsphere conducts blower door tests

for air leakage and inspections are

performed by Holmes on Homes Group.

What energy efficiency building

practices would you like to see

consistently promoted in the industry?

“Improved insulation, to increase

the R-value of walls and attic space. A

tight envelope is more important than

the HVAC system you install,” Afonso

says. “If the home is tight, you can get

away with a smaller furnace, one that’s

more appropriately sized for the home.”

The corollary to a tight envelope,

Afonso says, is ventilation. Empire

uses Energy Recovery Ventilators

(ERVs) “which mitigate the effect of

a tight home. The old R2000 homes

were very tight and did a great job of

reducing energy consumption, but

they didn’t provide enough ventilation.

An ERV will dramatically improve air

circulation, ventilation and air quality.”

Most builders use some form of

ventilation system, Afonso says, and

most EnergySTAR programs require it.

The problem is that the regular buying

public still doesn’t quite understand

what an ERV can do for them. “They

think they’re wasting energy by turning

it on, but to achieve maximum benefit,

the ERV needs to run all the time.”

To this end, Empire Communities

educates homeowners about how

their EnergySTAR homes operate, and

homeowner awareness is another way

the company gets back to basics. BB

Empire educates

homeowners about

how their homes

operate … another

way the company

gets back to basics.

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

Men

WomenHave you ever wondered

why you were purchasing

something that you didn’t

really need?

I was pondering a similar question

on the last trip I made to Canadian

Tire with my boyfriend. Let’s get this

straight: I was lured there on the

pretense that we were replacing the

mop head. Next thing I knew, my

boyfriend was in the power tool aisle

looking longingly at the merchandise.

I could tell that he was zeroing in on

the cordless drills.

“Cordless drills? You gotta be

kidding!” my interior critic was

screaming. “Wasn’t it just this

morning that I put toast in the

toaster oven and patiently awaited

the perfectly browned twelve-grain

bread?” It didn’t toast, and it didn’t

take me too long to figure out why.

There was a power pack plugged into

the toaster oven’s socket, and sitting

there on the kitchen counter charging

was a cordless drill. One of many, I

may add, that I have noticed in odd

places around the house and shed.

It seems that my boyfriend is

not alone; ninety-five percent of

our purchase decisions are made

deep below the level of waking

consciousness. In fact, a multitude of

different and oftentimes conflicting

emotions are triggered within us

when contemplating a purchase.

Research data gathered from the

relatively new field of Neuro-

economics provides information that

helps us to better understand the

biological basis for human behaviour,

including purchasing behaviour.

When you are engaging in a

pleasurable activity – for my boyfriend

that’s buying a cordless drill –

dopamine is released in the brain.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter

that fuels desire and pleasure. It is the

reason my boyfriend looks so happy

after he buys another drill he doesn’t

need. In the moments after a purchase,

dopamine is fired up and any inklings

of anxiety or guilt are squelched.

Paul Zak, the Director of the

Center for Neuroeconomic Studies at

Claremont University has studied stock

traders on Wall Street in an attempt

to determine if there are genetic

variants that make a trader successful.

Dopamine plays an important role as

it modulates both reward seeking and

risk taking behaviors.

The study analyzed saliva samples

and other information from profes-

sional stock traders and then compared

those to Claremont MBA students who

were not trading stocks professionally.

Zak found that there are indeed genetic

differences in these two groups and

that there are particular genetic

variants that make a trader successful

on Wall Street. It turns out that the most

successful traders have genes that give

them moderate levels of dopamine.

With moderate levels, these traders can

take a risk when they predict a good

payoff and avoid a risk when it seems

likely to blow up in their face.

I’m guessing that my boyfriend

doesn’t have the genes that give him

moderate levels of dopamine given his

inability to avoid the risk of me blowing

up over the cordless drill purchase.

But I didn’t blow up (not outwardly

anyway). Why? I suspect my brain was

under the effect of oxytocin. Oxytocin

was once believed to be released in

humans only during sex and childbirth.

Rodents, on the other hand, have

oxytocin on hand (or paw) and it allows

them to tolerate their burrow mates.

Zak has dubbed oxytocin “the

moral molecule” and states that we

have a biology for reciprocation. I feel

it’s my duty to inform you that when

you trust someone, his or her brain

releases oxytocin. When you give a hug

to someone, his or her brain releases

oxytocin. We are that powerful. The

reciprocal effect of oxytocin motivates

us to care about and engage with

others. Lucky for my burrow mate.

I think it’s time to apologize in print

to my boyfriend for picking on him and

his affinity for power tools. Dopamine

29

What’s Driving Your Personal Rating System?

buildernews / WENDY SHAMI

relationship

sports

sex

sex

pets

food

food regrets

urination

aging

men thrashing

baldingrelatio

nship

aging

odd hair growth

ca

ree

r

Thought Frequency as Pie Charts

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 201630

does not discriminate between the

sexes. I admit, I too am subject to the

feel-good effects of dopamine. Just

follow me into IKEA and watch the

process. Our kitchen is full of gadgets

and dish-towels in lovely prints. With

all the stuff around, it’s no wonder it

took me awhile to notice the cordless

drill on the kitchen counter.

There is a difference between men

and women. Oh… excuse me, I know

there are many differences between

men and women, but there is one that

is relevant to this article: testosterone.

Women do have a bit of it but men

have a lot of it. The release of oxytocin

is inhibited by higher levels of testo-

sterone. Zak’s study found that men

that were given testosterone in exper-

iments become more selfish. Addi-

tionally, these same men were more

likely to punish someone who was

selfish towards them. Now there’s a

case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Neuroeconomics is providing

data that allows one to question the

stereotypical view that economists

hold of the world. This view describes

humans as operating from a place of

self-interest and as highly rational.

It appears, testosterone aside, that

we are, in fact, wired for cooperation

and trust. Think about it. We get

on airplanes with pilots whom we

have never met and trust we will end

up at our destination and not in a

Lost episode. We trust strangers in

restaurants not to poison us. And,

my boyfriend and I trust that we will

continue to love and respect each other

even when annoyed by power tools and

kitchen towels.

What does all this mean? It gives us

a lens to help better under stand our

world and how we organize that world.

Paul Zak says that Neuro economics

lets him “embrace words like morality

or love or compassion in a non-squishy

way. It says, these are real things, this

is really part of our human nature and

we should embrace that.” BB

Wendy Shami is a

sometime writer

and the managing

editor of Better

Builder magazine.

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 2016

This next point is very important:

there is no need to panic should a

home have a high level of radon.

Health Canada identifies the biggest

risk with radon as long-term exposure

to the gas over a lifetime. However,

if radon is an issue in a home, action

should be taken to mitigate this.

The Canadian guideline for radon in

indoor air is 200 bq/m3. The Health

Canada guidelines require that homes

with levels over 600 bq/m3 are to be

remediated within 12 months, while

homes with levels between 200-600

need to be remediated within 24

months.

Radon levels are also very random.

One homeowner might have a high

level and their next door neighbour

may have hardly any at all. Although

soil testing can be done prior to

construction, it cannot rule out the

possibility that radon could be a

problem after a home is built. The

same way a bowl will hold more water

than a sieve, radon needs an enclosed

space either in, or on, the soil in order

to collect. It migrates to the lowest

level of air pressure by natural air

movement.

Because of this, in-home levels

tend to be higher in the winter when

the surrounding soil has snow and

frost effects and the gas migrates

more naturally to the basement, being

the lowest air pressure area within

the surrounding soil.

The Radon Logic TrapI believe that there is a “Logic Trap”

within the Ontario Building Code that

is causing industry stakeholders, both

builders and building officials, to reach

the wrong conclusion regarding the

need for soil gas control.

The OBC states that there are three

areas where you must install radon

mitigation/soil gas measures. It also

states that, where radon is known

to be a problem and, unless you can

demonstrate that it is not required, you

have to install radon mitigation/soil

gas measures. However, although there

are three obvious problem areas, the

Code has remained silent on how to

test for radon. The “logical” conclusion

that nearly everyone is reaching is

“Radon is not an issue in my area

therefore I don’t require soil gas

control.” That’s the logic trap. I believe

it leads builders to the wrong answer

and exposes them to potential liability.

Solving the Logic TrapLet’s look at it another way. Radon is a

noble gas and, by definition, a soil gas

and is present everywhere including

in every home at some level, whether

acceptable or problematic. The only

way you can test for high levels vs.

safe levels within a home is by using a

long-term 90-day test after the home

has been closed in. (The trouble is that

this is not in the OBC, but rather in the

Health Canada Guidelines). Therefore,

you cannot demonstrate that radon

is not a problem during construction

or even before permit, which means

soil gas controls are actually required

under s. 9.13.4.2(2).

I believe that the best solution is

for builders to install soil gas control

measures as noted in SB-9 and, as an

industry, address the radon logic trap

within the Ontario Building Code.

The way it currently exists is unclear

and unfair to builders, renovators and

building inspectors.

31

Radon – What You Should Know

fromthegroundup / DOUG TARRY

Radon is an odourless, colourless and tasteless gas that can accumulate in

buildings, such as schools, offices and homes. More importantly, radon is

everywhere. It is the naturally occurring gas emitted from the breakdown

of uranium and is found in soil throughout all of Canada. According to Health

Canada, radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in Canada.

A clearly labelled radon rough-in (above).

Sub-slab radon mitigation system rough-in.

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 19 | AUTUMN 201632

What are we doing about radon at Doug Tarry Homes?At Doug Tarry Homes, we have

decided that we will be taking a

proactive approach to controlling

radon in new homes.

At the time of writing this

article, the Ontario Home Builders’

Association is in the process of

completing a survey of radon levels in

new homes across Ontario to better

understand how new residential

construction performs in the face of

radon gas. The knowledge gained by

this survey will inform best practices

to radon-resistant techniques in new

residential construction.

Doug Tarry Homes has been

participating in the OHBA radon

study since its inception and we

are sharing information with other

participating builders. During

this time, we have learned a lot

about dealing with radon. Once we

understood what was involved and

how to properly mitigate a new home

under construction, we decided to act.

In order to better serve our

customers and to ensure their safety

and peace of mind, I have been

certified by the Canadian/National

Radon Proficiency Program (C-NRPP)

for measurements and new home

instillations. Effective January 1, 2016,

Doug Tarry Homes is now installing a

radon mitigation system in every home

we build in all markets that we serve.

Under the basement slab will be a

soil gas collection pipe rough-in. Above

that, and directly below the basement

slab, will be a soil gas protection layer

to limit the entry of radon into the home.

Should radon be found to be

present, the soil gas collection pipe can

easily be made active in a cost-effective

manner using an in-line fan to exhaust

the sub soil gas from under the

basement floor. This fan operates with

very minimal ongoing costs. We have

worked to educate our local building

officials in all the markets that we

serve to ensure they understand

our details and can properly and

effectively inspect our installations

to provide third-party verification of

proper installation.

Additionally, we will also provide

a long-term test for our customers,

should they ask us to do so. This test

will follow nationally-recognized

guidelines, and we will provide our

customers with a copy of the lab

report. While we do not anticipate

finding high levels of radon within

our homes based upon the steps we

are taking, if radon is found, we will

remediate our customers’ homes by

installing an active in-line fan system,

or other approved measure, so that we

can ensure their home is made safe.

Our goal at Doug Tarry Homes is to

continue our industry leadership by

building the healthiest, safest, most

energy-efficient and affordable new

homes possible. We encourage other

builders and building officials to learn

more about radon mitigation as a

positive, healthy choice in new home

construction. BB

Doug Tarry Jr is director of marketing at

Doug Tarry Homes in St. Thomas, Ontario.

Should radon be found to be present, the soil

gas collection pipe can easily be made active

in a cost-effective manner using an in-line fan.

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NOTES:

BUILD SCALE:

TRIM AREA:BLEED:SAFETY:

JAN Kelley Marketing, its employees and agents (collectively referred to as “JKM”) shall not be held liable for any loss or damage suffered by you, or by any third party, from the use of these marketing materials (the “Materials”) if they have been modified, distorted, combined with third party content, or manipulated in whole or in part by any party other than JKM. Further, once the proof of the Materials has been approved by you, JKM shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by you or any third party arising from any alleged or actual defect in the Materials or in any way arising from their reproduction by a party other than JKM.

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ESD2172_HomeBuilderMag_Res_Ad_FIN.indd 1 2016-08-15 12:25 PM