Better Builder Magazine, Issue 16 / Winter 2015

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BETTER

Builder MAGAZINE

the builder’s source

Issue 16 | WInter 2015WWW.betterbuIlder.ca

Better Builders from

Living the Best with LIV CommunitiesAre We Setting the Bar Too High?Mentoring Change with BuildersEnvelope – First Things FirstThe Path to Continual Improvement

In thIs Issue

Coast to Coast

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It takes less than 1/3 of the space of a conventional heating and air conditioning unit.

MAX ENERGY SAVINGS

Energy savings, temperature control and comfort levels are achieved in individual levels of the home by prioritizing the requirements. This is achieved by installing optional space thermostats. If any area calls for heating or cooling, the individual thermostat allows the space it serves to achieve optimum comfort and still maintain continuous air circulation throughout the home.

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Feature story18 Living the Best with LIV Communities Landmart Homes rebrands itself as “an example ofacompanywillingtoredefineitselfbeyond what most builders are doing.” By tracy Hanes InsIde thIs Issue02 Publisher’s Note: Good, Better, Best By joHn godden

03 The Bada Test: Are We Setting the Bar Too High Too Soon? By Lou Bada

04 Builder News: Denim Homes – A Quality Envelope Is the Key By aLex newman

06 Industry Expert: Round One – A Production Style Net Zero Home By gord cooke

08 Industry News: Royalpark’s a PowerHaus By aLex newman

11 Site Specific: Nancy McCabe By aLex newman

13 Industry Expert: Mentoring Change with Builders By micHaeL Lio

15 Builder News: Sharing Resources: The Essence of Green By aLex newman

22 Industry News: Fabulous Laneway Houses by Lanefab By aLex newman

25 Builder News: The Edelweiss Home: Envelope – First Things First By aLex newman

29 From the Ground Up: A Journey on the Path of Continual Improvement By doug tarry

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ISSuE 16 | WINTER 2015

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Cover Image: Shutterstock

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2 www.BetterBuiLder.ca | issue 16 | winter 2015

Publisher Better 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 editor John B. Godden

Managing editor Wendy Shami [email protected]

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

Feature Writers Tracy Hanes, Alex Newman

ProoFreading Janet Dimond

creative Robert Robotham Graphicswww.RobertRobotham.ca

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 nuMber 42408014

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 Mail Better Builder Magazine 63 Blair Street, Toronto, ON M4B 3N5Better Builder Magazine is published four times a year.

What is your definition of a good

builder? Good reputation, good

customer service, a high Tarion

rating? The philosophy of sustainability is

nearest and dearest to my heart and hope-

fully included in your criteria

for a good builder. Regarding

sustainability, I’m not just talk-

ing energy efficiency, but also

durability; not just low operat-

ing costs, but also a structure

built to last. Remember the

requirements of the building

code are a minimum standard.

Today’s houses are built

faster because of the approval

process. Once permits are in hand, houses

must be delivered at a predetermined clos-

ing date. The discussion of what makes a

good builder needs to also include how the

builder handles the process of construction

under very challenging circumstances. Better

builders know quality takes time and find the

sweet spot between construction speed and

craftsmanship.

Better builders have emerged as a result

of utility programs like Optimum Homes.

The builder’s organization looks inward with

the help of outside consultants to determine

process and timelines. Consultants and the

builder collaboratively set realistic goals and

create a template for change. Accountability

increases across all depart-

ments as communication is fine

tuned and a feedback loop is

established. Key to the suc-

cess of better builders are the

individuals on-site who take

personal ownership of the orga-

nization’s goals.

In this issue our regular con-

tributors Lou Bada, Gord Cooke,

Michael Lio and Doug Tarry

discuss the path of continual improvement

between code homes and low energy homes.

Better Builder visits some of the best builders

across Canada – Lanefab Design/Build in B.C.,

LIV Communities, Royalpark Homes and RND

Construction in Ontario, Ecohome in Que-

bec and Denim Homes in Nova Scotia. These

companies are industry leaders practising

the triple bottom line in their construction

projects – what’s good for people, business

and the environment. BB

Good, Better, Best

publisher’snoteB y j o h n g o d d e n


Better builders know quality

takes time and find the sweet spot between construction speed and

craftsmanship.

BETTER

Builder MAGAZINE


To advertise contact:647-382-1402 • [email protected]

or visit us at www.betterbuilder.ca

3www.BetterBuiLder.ca | issue 16 | winter 2015

In Ontario we have a defined public

policy goal of achieving net zero

energy housing by 2030. The bar

has been set. The process of regula-

tion through the Ontario Building

Code (OBC) of continuous improve-

ment in energy efficiency for houses

in five-year increments until 2030 is

ambitious and reasonable, for the most

part. The overarching goal is a low car-

bon economy, lowering greenhouse gas

emissions, and ultimately doing our

part to lessen the effects of climate

change while improving the human

condition and our state of well-being.

Sustainability is important stuff.

I’ve always liked the “triple bottom

line” mantra for sustainability – planet,

people and profit. Sustainability initia-

tives that fail on any one of these fac-

tors do not achieve the intended goal.

Economic sustainability is maligned

far too often. The lack of adequate,

healthy and affordable housing is regu-

larly an afterthought. Affordability is

an elusive goal as a public policy objec-

tive. But it’s difficult to simply write

regulations to meet the important goal

of affordable housing.

With the advent of the

Net Zero Energy pilot

program, important

work is being done on

defining net zero ready

and net zero energy

homes as well as the

delivery program and

its labelling. This seems

to be following a similar path of

previous labelling programs (such

as R-2000, LEED for Homes and

ENERGY STAR). This important work

is being done by a group of stake-

holders from government, industry

consultants, suppliers, volunteer

builders, and led by the Canadian

Home Builders’ Association. While

this might seem to be a

great initiative, we must

be very careful and

prudent in our approach

to implementation. We

should always begin

with the desired result

in mind – improving the

human condition and

our state of well-being

on this planet.

The Greater Toronto and Hamilton

Area and other large Canadian metro-

politan areas have peculiar municipal

planning policy environments. Once

a document is produced for net zero

housing, there’s very little that can

stop municipal governments from

mandating this form of housing en

masse well before 2030. Politicians

will ask if there’s a definition of a net

zero home, and if it has been built

before, why shouldn’t every new home

in their municipality be built that

way? After all, “(fill in the blank) is the

greenest municipality in Canada.”

This is low-hanging fruit that is

easily picked. Just write it into a set

of development guidelines and you’re

automatically a green municipality.

And yet there is very little understand-

ing of the ramifications this, once

Good, Better, Best

thebadatestB y L o u B a d a

I’ve always liked the “triple

bottom line” mantra for

sustainability – planet, people

and profit.

Continued on page 32

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Are We Setting the Bar Too High Too Soon?


When it comes to framing

houses, Caleb Howden

was something of a child

prodigy. He started the summer he

was 13, and by 14 had quit school,

left his home town in Alberta’s Peace

River district, and moved to Calgary

where he started working two or three

construction jobs. “I loved working

and I loved framing houses,” says the

39-year-old owner and president of

Denim Homes in Halifax, N.S.

At 18 he was headhunted by an

American framing company, and at 19

he and his bride moved to the States.

Within a few years he was project

managing commercial and residential

building all over North America, from

Ontario to California and Hawaii.

Moving around so much gave him

a “well-rounded perspective of the

industry,” Howden says. “When you

frame all your life, in so many differ-

ent locations, under so many different

bylaw requirements, you develop a

wide perspective and understanding of

how things are – and can be – built.”

It’s also caused him to ask a lot

of questions, especially why. In the

States he’d frequently question the

engineers about their methods and

objectives. Then he’d go back to them

with a better, simpler design.

If his questions went unanswered,

Howden would hit the books and

do the research. Soon after moving

to Nova Scotia, someone asked him

about the best heating system. He

didn’t know the answer, and since

he doesn’t like “not knowing,” he

researched hundreds of sustainable

housing models to understand.

The answer he came up

with was surprising – elec-

tric baseboard heating. But

Howden deemed it best for

practical and cost reasons.

“You have to look at the

upfront cost to build or

install a system, and then

the cost to maintain and

operate monthly. There is

no mechanical equipment

you can put in a house that

will pay itself off in the

time it takes to wear out.”

While that may sound

like something that doesn’t

belong in a magazine about

energy efficiency, sustain-

ability and environmen-

tally responsible building,

Howden makes a good

counterargument. “If you

build a home right so it

doesn’t lose heat, then the

heating system matters less

and less. It then becomes a

lifestyle question as in, Do

you like forced air? Do you

want each bedroom at a

different temperature?”

So Howden instead

focuses on building a “qual-

ity envelope” so tight, it

uses minimal energy – and

costs a lot less to operate.

He starts with staggered double-

studded walls that have a common

top and bottom plate, mostly 2x10s,

with 2x4s staggered on the top and

bottom. These are then insulated with

solid foam – either ½ lb, 1 lb or 2 lb

foam depending on the situation. It’s

not just about wall location either.

Howden says, “Putting tons of insula-

tion in a north-facing wall isn’t going

to save money on heating because

your heat loss is through windows.”

Howden focuses on the home’s

structure, where its weak spots are,

Denim Homes – A Quality Envelope Is the Key

buildernewsB y a l e x n e w m a n

An efficient airtight envelope means the heating system works less. Staggered studs on 2x10 wall plates give R40 walls.

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and “How to mitigate thermal heat

loss due to that structure.”

He finds major heat loss spots are

between the footings and the founda-

tion wall, and around the room joists

and window headers.

Generally he’ll use ½ lb spray foam

in the walls, but wherever there’s

reduced thickness – like above the

window or at a load-bearing point

– he will use 2 lb foam because it

offers a more consistent thermal

level over the whole expanse of wall.

“Anywhere you have large areas of

built-up lumber, you are going to lose

a lot of heat,” Howden reasons.

This higher-cost 2 lb closed-cell

foam is also used in all the floor

joists, basement and main floor, as

well as rim joists because it eliminates

the need for a vapour barrier.

It’s also used anywhere “it’s difficult

to get an air seal, or where there’s mois-

ture like the basement or perimeter

walls because it doesn’t take on water.”

Ultimately, it’s about R-values, he

says. Spray foam in a double stud wall

offers significantly higher R-value than

the same wall packed with fibreglass

insulation. In the attic, however, he’ll

use cellulose insulation rather than

foam “because cellulose

is economic, people have

a lot of room in the attic,

so it’s easy to pile up.

Typically we put in R60,

but can be increased.”

Howden also zeroes

in on the foundation.

When outside ground

and air temperatures

are low, the founda-

tion wall and interior

slab are going to be cold. Separating

the foundation from the slab with a

thermal break helps retain heat, so

he uses R20 underneath and around

the perimeter of the slab.

An 8” exterior wall – which is what

Howden uses as standard – allows the

thermal break at the slab

edge to be capped by the wall

plate. This would not be pos-

sible with a 2x6 exterior wall.

While insulation is an

important factor in reducing

energy consumption, How-

den points out the impor-

tance of windows – how

many and where they’re

located. “You can put in all

the insulation you want, but

unless you’re strategic with

window placement and what

they’re made of – triple

pane, for example – you’ll

experience heat loss. Bot-

tom line is holes in walls,

although necessary for light,

are bad for heat loss.”

ProgramsMost of the homes Denim

constructs could qualify

for programs such as

EnerGuide, ENERGY STAR,

R-2000, or Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design (LEED), but

Howden usually doesn’t bother regis-

tering for them. For one thing it adds

to the cost of the house – $1,200 for

an R-2000 label – and

some of the programs

(especially LEED) require

energy/carbon footprint

reduction in aspects unre-

lated to building, such

as proximity to public

transit.

And since he also

focuses mainly on build-

ing the tightest building

envelope possible, he

doesn’t factor in things like loca-

tion – or proximity to transit. “Those

things [lowering carbon footprint] are

relevant and have a place, but it’s just

not our focus. We focus on energy

efficiency through a quality envelope.”

Howden won the design competi-

tion to build a net zero home for

$275,000 – roughly half the cost of

the other bids. He’ll use the same

tight envelope and install a 9 kW solar

photovoltaic (PV) system for generat-

ing electricity. Nova Scotia, with its

greater number of sunny days, is a

good location for solar energy.

Apart from envelope and mechani-

cal systems, there are other things for

builders to consider when building net

zero homes. In Nova Scotia new homes

are required to have an HRV (heat

recovery ventilator), so Howden adds

sensible features like a drying closet.

“The HRV is running 24 hours anyway,

and it has a built-in exhaust. It’s noth-

ing to put up wire shelves and a timer

so you can hang up damp clothes to

dry. Yes, it’s slower than a dryer, but

uses absolutely no energy.” BB

Alex Newman is a writer, editor and researcher at www.alexnewmanwriter.com.


Thanks to Caleb – Gillian was voted the greenest dentist by her association. Her office is a net zero building.

“Putting tons of insulation in a

north-facing wall isn’t going

to save money on heating because your heat loss

is through windows.”

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On September 11, 2015, at their

first net zero grand open-

ing, Reid’s Heritage Homes in

Guelph, Ont., announced, “By the

end of 2016 or early 2017, we will

be building net zero-ready homes in

all new single-family developments.”

That is a bold statement, but if you

consider current political agendas,

customer expectations and indus-

try trends, building net zero homes

starts to makes sense. It is a concept

really starting to gain momentum

across the country. So, let’s look at

one builder’s approach.

By the time this article is printed,

Reid’s Heritage Homes will be in the

framing stages of the last two of

five net zero homes. These are being

constructed as part of the Natural

Resources Canada (NRCan) and Owens

Corning-partnered ecoENERGY Inno-

vation Initiative (ecoEII) project. (For

more information on this national

project that includes four other build-

ers across Canada, visit www.zeroen-

ergy.ca.) You may recall a hot discus-

sion by Michael Lio in Better Builder

Issue 14, Summer 2015 on the water

heating equipment selected for these

homes. This was a great introduction

to some of the newer technologies

being selected, but it is not the only

new concept worthy of discussion. As

Reid’s Heritage Homes has learned,

it takes a lot more than the right

equipment to build a cost-effective

net zero home. It is about finding the

sweet spot between added enclosure

and systems costs versus reducing the

renewable energy capacity to achieve

a zero annual energy goal.

Round One – A Production-Style Net Zero Home

industryexpertB y g o rd c o o k e

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Net zero home #1: Zoned ductwork with inline electric resistance backup heaters.

Ceiling R60+ R60 blown fibreglass with 10” raised heel truss

Above-grade walls R35+ 2x6 @ 24” on centre (OC), R20 batts + R15 extruded polystyrene (XPS) exterior sheathing

Foundation walls R25+ 2x4 @ 24” OC, held out 2” for R23 batts + R10 XPS continuous tight to the wall

Foundation slab R10+ 2” XPS under slab, with 2” XPS slab edge insulation

Windows R5+ Triple-glazed, double Low E coating

Air tightness <1.5 air changesper hour (ACH) @ 50 Pa (pascals of pressure) lbs/sq. in.

1.0 ACH @ 50 Pa

Component Target Effective Reid’s Heritage Homes’ First Net Zero Home R-Values Construction Elements


The design requirements of the

R-2000 Net Zero Energy pilot techni-

cal standard were a good starting

point as they require the passive

elements of the enclosure design

to reduce energy consumption by

33% compared to the R-2000 typical

reference house. The chart shows the

effective R-values and air tightness

targets for assembly components

and the construction elements Reid’s

Heritage Homes has used in the first

of their five homes.

Add a Mitsubishi cold climate

air source heat pump with electric

backup, a Rheem Hybrid air source

heat pump hot water tank, the most

efficient vanEE energy recovery

ventilator (ERV) available,

a drainwater heat recov-

ery system, light-emitting

diode/compact fluorescent

lamp (LED/CFL) light-

ing, and voilà! Net zero

Canadian-style (albeit

Southwestern Ontario).

Seriously, that’s it. That’s

what it took such that an

8.5 kW solar photovoltaic

(PV) array on the roof was

enough to achieve net zero

qualification. Well, not

quite that easy. There were

challenges such as the wall

assembly and meeting air

tightness targets.

If you grimaced at the

R15 (3” XPS) insulated

sheathing on exterior

walls, you weren’t the only

one. This item was one of

the first on the chopping

block. It alone caused sub-

stantial foundation costs,

unnecessary complexity

for brick ties and siding

fastening, and significant

process changes that

proved detrimental to air

sealing. With more practice

all these would have improved, but

sometimes the two steps forward,

one step back approach is helpful.

On the second net zero home, the

main framed walls had to change.

Two main choices stood out above

all – 2x8 framing with double R14

batts or staggered double stud fram-

ing with 2x4s. In the end, the framing

crew had the last say and elected to

use 2x8s. Exterior insulated sheath-

ing was limited to R10 or 2” and

additional cavity insulation was

added. Compared to the first net zero

wall assembly, framing and sheathing

time was cut in half and the process

differed very slightly from ENERGY

STAR walls, with 1” thicker exterior

insulation and 2” thicker studs. Most

importantly, all air sealing details

were consistent between Reid’s Heri-

tage Homes’ normal ENERGY STAR

process and these net zero homes.

To address air sealing struggles,

bath fans in attic ceilings were

replaced by ERV-ducted exhausts

powered by a vanEE 90H-V electroni-

cally commutated motor (ECM) ERV

in all five homes. The basement pour-

in-place windows were also upgraded

to bucked-out sliders that were much

easier to seal.

In the second home, changes were

also made to the heating, ventilating

and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

For space heating, the Mitsubishi

zoned heating and cooling system

with individual inline electric resis-

tance backup heaters was replaced

with a Dettson Chinook/Alizé Smart

Duct System. It turned out cost-effec-

tive natural gas heating was a good

match with the net zero concept for

these homes.

On the other hand, for water heat-

ing all five homes will be using air

source heat pump hot water heat-

ers (HPWH). Gas water heaters can

make economic sense in some cases,

but for these five homes the HPWH

matched very well with the available

solar PV capacity.

In building the five net zero homes,

Reid’s Heritage Homes has gained

valuable experience in the process –

between net zero home #1 and net

zero home #5 the incremental cost

has dropped 25%. As the cost of

solar continues to fall and the cost of

utility energy continues to rise, it is

only a matter of time before net zero

becomes a compelling opportunity for

builders and their homebuyers. Reid’s

Heritage Homes is figuring it out. All

builders should have a go at it. BB

Gord Cooke is president of Building Knowledge Canada.

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Net Zero Home #2: Dettson Smart Duct System

industryexpertB y g o rd c o o k e


Royalpark Homes has green

history. The Woodbridge, Ont.,

company built the first LEED

Silver home in Markham, and was

the first in Brampton to build under

Enbridge’s Savings by Design program.

“We’re always looking for ways to

be greener, and more sustainable,”

says Marco De Simone, Royalpark’s

president. A typical Royalpark home

has a tight envelope – their wall sys-

tem was rated the most efficient in

Ontario by a Best Wall Study under-

taken by Ryerson University – and

they’re built better than code with

exterior sheathing with a higher insu-

lation level, De Simone says.

So when Panasonic Eco Solutions

launched its residential energy storage

offering – a 10 kWh lithium-ion battery,

solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, and

hybrid inverter package – Royalpark

jumped onboard. A pocket of eight

homes at their new Simcoe Shores low

rise project in Barrie, Ont., comes with

the new battery storage system.

Even though De Simone has always

been an early adopter of green tech-

nology, he thought carefully before

taking on the solar panel and battery

storage system. What influenced his

decision was the Panasonic name.

Panasonic developed a unique

package that combines a Tabuchi-

manufactured inverter and battery

powered by Panasonic lithium-ion bat-

tery cells, solar PV panels, and a moni-

toring system to ensure a headache-

free experience for the builder.

Even so, De Simone says, “We

couldn’t have committed to this

unless we knew it would function well

and cut energy costs. As a builder I

have to stand behind my product, and

if it’s not working, my reputation is

on the line. Since Panasonic is a high

end company, I know they’ve done the

research and testing, and it will run

the way they claim it’s running.”

Called the PowerHaus collection,

the eight homes within the larger

Simcoe Shores project are being used

as a demo, says De Simone, “to see if

the product is successful. These are

stepping stones. Two hundred homes

would be too big a commitment,

but eight homes allows us to see if

we can manage this. Next, maybe

we’ll [do] 15 houses, and build up

confidence along the way about the

industrynewsB y a l e x n e w m a n

Royalpark’s a PowerHaus

At the opening of PowerHaus, then minister of environment and climate change Glen Murray and Sylvie Briz of Panasonic exchange ideas about Near Zero houses and solar battery storage.

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system and its saleability.”

The battery storage technol-

ogy with its ability to store energy

for later use has helped the homes

achieve 50% better than code. But the

PowerHaus homes have also been

built even tighter – with higher level

mechanical components – than the

company’s regular homes.

All eight of the homes have sold.

So What Is It Exactly?The Panasonic Residential Storage

Battery System – a package of lith-

ium-ion battery, hybrid inverter and

solar panels – allows homeowners to

generate, store and manage electric-

ity generated by solar panels. At the

heart of the system is the compact 10

kWh lithium-ion battery unit, which is

paired with a unique hybrid inverter

that allows electricity to be stored or

discharged depending on the home’s

needs. It can convert from DC to AC,

and vice versa, on demand.

A monitoring system and remote

control device help homeowners

oversee their electricity use, and

lets them set times for charging and

discharging the battery. It can also be

programmed as a backup electricity

source during grid outages.

Sylvie Briz, director of marketing

and business development, residential

energy storage at Panasonic Eco Solu-

tions which offers the system, believes

solar energy, especially when coupled

with battery storage, enables home-

owners to store clean energy and bet-

ter manage their energy consumption.

As well, homeowners want energy

security, especially if they live in

places where there are frequent grid

outages, she adds.

But What’s It Going to Cost Me?“Where the system is offered up front,

it can be included in a mortgage. Then

it’s embedded in the overall cost of

the home,” explains Briz. Since home-

owners will be producing the energy

they consume – and possibly export-

ing some back to the grid – they’ll

enjoy huge savings on their utility

bills. “And that’s something you can

take to the bank – literally.”

Panasonic is making it as easy as

possible for builders to include solar

and energy storage. Panasonic does

all the work, Briz says. “We do it all

for you, from start to finish, manag-

ing the timeline and schedule, all

the paper flow, applying for the net

metering agreement with the local

utilities, the structural engineers’

work, the installation labour, and

making sure the system is up and

running and monitored properly. We

offer a complete turnkey service.”

Since launching the battery storage

system, the phone has been ringing

off the hook with builders wanting

to know more, Briz says. “I think that

shows there’s a pent-up demand from

consumers for homes that are energy

efficient, cost less to run, and are

good for the environment.” BB



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Nancy McCabe has been super-

vising sites for most of her

life. She started at 13 work-

ing summers for her dad and since

then has supervised sites for several

builders. She’s seen many building

practices, both good and bad, along

the way.

“Generally, the basics are the same

– there’s safety, organization, plan-

ning. It’s important to be a couple

weeks ahead of the trades – if a

house is not ready, they lose out on

pay, which isn’t fair, so you have to

make sure that when the tiler arrives,

the floor is ready for them, and that

the workers are safe in any project.”

While everyone has a differ-

ent approach to building, success

depends on being organized – and if

you’re not organized, “You’re toast.”

The Challenges of a Site Super: What It InvolvesA site superintendent’s role is to

manage a site from dirt to when

homeowners get their keys. “You

plan, organize, control, check, direct,

there’s the whole safety aspect, which

gets more comprehensive every year.

You need to oversee quality control,

keep the site spotless, deal with any

problems that arise. Plus there are all

the relationships to sort out – Min-

istry of Labour, the builder’s head

office, the homeowners, building

inspectors, the trades.

“At each step of the process,

there’s management of materials

and trades. You need to make sure

that everything is on site when it’s

needed, like basement windows for

the foundation guys. Sometimes

there are problems with the archi-

tectural drawings, when it

comes to executing them

– there are a hundred dif-

ferent problems I deal with

every day.”

Going GreenFor the first time in her

career, she’s managing a

site for a green builder –

Casablanca for LIV Com-

munities. “It’s unusual

for a subdivision builder

to be building better than

code,” admits McCabe. “At

least it’s not something

I’ve seen. The last builder

I worked for was doing

a project of 250 homes which were

supposed to be ENERGY STAR, but it

was a seat-of-the-pants type of thing,

and the ENERGY STAR ratings were

more of a marketing thing.”

She has found the process on a

green project a little slower going

because of the learning curve for the

trades. “The first few houses can take

a little longer as you educate framers,

insulators and so on, but once every-

one is on board, they’re not doing

anything appreciably different to slow

down production.”

One snag is the building inspec-

tor, especially when new technology

is involved. So she took advantage of

John Godden/Clearsphere’s offer to

come in from the beginning to explain

to the inspectors how and why things

were being done a little differently.

At the Casablanca site there are

three package grades – LIV Better and

LIV Best, with Best being the upgrade

that gives higher insulation values,

a different heating, ventilating and

air conditioning (HVAC) system, hot

water tank, better windows, compact

fluorescent (CFL) lighting, Power-Pipe

and energy recovery ventilator (ERV).

Then there is LIV for the Future,

50% better than code, with features

such as the best available ERV,

superior windows with a 1.4 U value

rating that minimize air conditioning,

Power-Pipes on two drains, the 96%

efficient Amana Goodman furnace

with electronically commutated motor

(ECM), a condensing hot water heater

and a 6.75 kW photovoltaic (PV) solar

system with energy storage battery.

Of the 120 homes in this higher

end project – split between two

phases – McCabe figures about 30%

of buyers have upgraded to the Best

package. Most of the buyers she has

met are slightly older, have a bigger

budget, and are ready to embrace

green building. BB


sitespecificB y a l e x n e w m a n

Success depends on being organized, says Nancy McCabe.

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Nancy McCabe



I took my first R-2000 workshop in

1982. National Resources Canada

(NRCan) mounted these workshops

to make builders aware of this new

innovative way to build and also dem-

onstrate some of the new practices

that define R-2000. Three facilitators

(including one builder) talked about

insulation, did live demonstrations

on polywrapping windows, and led

multiple HOTCAN (HOT2000’s pre-

decessor) modelling exercises for the

builders in the room. Thousands of

builders attended these workshops

over more than 20 years. Despite the

enormous training effort, R-2000

housing starts never captured more

than a few percent of the market.

What became clear later when

we introduced ENERGY STAR to

the Ontario market was that it was

completely unreasonable to expect

builders to be able to understand and

adopt complex R-2000 practices by

attending a workshop. Perhaps the

junior staff person, who was assigned

to attend the workshop, understood

the implications of adopting the

innovation, but they could never com-

municate all the implied changes to

the rest of the company, let alone the

trades who actually built the houses.

Ten years ago we suggested to

NRCan that workshops alone should

not be relied on as a means to facili-

tate change in the homebuilding

marketplace. We suggested workshops

build awareness, but deep engage-

ment and mentoring was needed with

individual builders over an extended

period of time to truly build enduring

change. NRCan supported the Building

Mentoring Change with Builders

industryexpertB y m i c h a e l L i o

Canada initiative to do

just that. Building Canada

engaged and mentored

just 4% of registered

ENERGY STAR builders.

These builders, however,

labelled almost 50% of

all ENERGY STAR houses

during that same period.

One-day handholding

sessions help to build

awareness, but they can’t

help builders make the

needed changes to their

assembly lines as they

try to adopt complex

innovations like ENERGY

STAR (or R-2000).

What Is Builder Mentoring and Deep Engagement?Our builder engagement process is

founded on a multiyear relationship

with the builder. The process is itera-

tive and digs as deeply as the builder

wants. It addresses any area of the

production process. It can be used,

for instance, to uncover savings to

pay for upgrades to enhance the

home’s performance. Our first Build-

ing Canada builder in Nova Scotia

was able to build an R-2000 house

at a cost less than their standard

house. They identified savings they

reinvested in improved performance.

For each builder the objectives

and outcomes are completely unique

and driven by their individual needs.

Over the last decade we have helped

many builders adopt new innovations

and often at the same time helped

them to improve:

• designs and scopes of work

• construction quality and supervision

• internal communication

• trade relationships

• customer satisfaction

• staff engagement and morale.

The engagement process is inte-

grated and touches every aspect of the

builder’s operations, including market-

ing, sales, contracts, construction, ser-

vice and trades. The process demands

a long-term commitment to continual

improvement and reinvestment in the

company. The builder’s leadership

team is challenged with defining the

problem and devising solutions.

Builders are encouraged to rap-

idly prototype solutions. They are

encouraged to retain what works and

discard or modify the things that

don’t. They are encouraged to pack-

age a small number of changes into

a discovery house and try the things

Chase Tsampiras from York Trafalgar applies a 20% Better Than Code label.

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that work in a discovery site before

adoption across their entire produc-

tion. What’s clear is that the path to

innovation adoption requires many

intermediate steps – far more than

what a single workshop offers.

Optimum HomeOur latest builder engagement

project has been through the Union

Gas Optimum Home program. The

objective of this program is to assist

builders to benchmark construction,

develop a construction specification

20% more energy efficient than the

current code, and build a discovery

house and discovery site to the new

specifications. Over almost a year we

worked with three builders on vari-

ous objectives including:

• developing a new ENERGY STAR v12

or 20% better than code design spec

• field testing and achieving ENERGY

STAR v12 or 20% better than code

• developing quality control forms for

on-site staff

• developing a detailed design book

• reviewing and revising exterior

sheathing/air barrier details

• developing a standardized project

schedule

• developing a protocol for better

company-wide communication

• developing new practices for

reduced housing defects

• reducing construction costs through

various efficiencies

• improving customer satisfaction

• training trades on consistency,

scopes of work, and ENERGY STAR

requirements

• training sales and décor staff on

energy efficiency upgrades

• engaging the municipality on how

CSA F280-12 would impact permits

• preparing for OBC 2017.

My experience is that every builder

organization is different. On the surface

it seems they build similar products

often using the same trades, but a

deeper examination reveals there are

vast differences. Their approach to their

customers, construction, even to their

sales varies considerably. While the pro-

cess is the same, solutions are custom-

ized for each builder. What they test is

different in every case. We remind our

builders of the Chinese proverb: When

the wind of change blows, some build

walls, others build windmills.

For more information on build-

ABILITY’s individual builder mentor-

ing or what mentoring might look

like for your company, please contact

Michael Lio at michael@buildability.

ca or 416-961-3487. BB

Michael Lio is president of buildABILITy Corporation ([email protected]).

industrynewsB y m i c h a e l L i o

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Roy Nandram’s building story

begins in a tight-knit commu-

nity in Guyana, South America.

One of ten children, he lived in an 880

sq. ft. house in a city block close to

about a hundred other kids.

It’s how he learned about sharing

resources, and navigating relationships.

“Sharing resources is really the

essence of my green story,” says

the 58-year-old Ottawa custom

homebuilder. “We weren’t poor, but

resources were scarce. With that

many kids in that size house, you can

imagine we spent a lot of time out-

doors, but so did everyone else in my

community. Having that many kids in

the neighbourhood was fun. My mom

cooked for 12 and sometimes more

because friends were always dropping

by, so we shared food, we shared toys,

and what we couldn’t buy, we made.

Recycling was part of everyday life.

Nothing was wasted.”

In 1976, when Nandram was 19, he

came to Canada and started working

in construction. Within a few years the

oil crisis affected not only the global

economy and interest rates, but the

price of heating a home as well. He

set out to learn about building effi-

ciency, but it wasn’t until his boss sent

him for energy conservation training

in 1982 with the Canadian General

Standards Board that his “eyes were

opened. I really learned the benefits of

saving energy by insulating and sealing

against air leaks.”

Investigating every new conserva-

tion technology that came on the mar-

ket is something Nandram continues

to this day. “I’m always looking to

make our projects better. I travel to

trade shows and subscribe to about

30 trade magazines. Companies send

us info on a regular basis. As the

chair of the building committee at the

local building association, I’m always

researching new speakers and pre-

senters, as well as new technology.”

He expects everyone in his office to

do the same, which is likely one rea-

son his company RND Construction

has won so many awards for green

construction and renovation.

Most recently, they won an Ener-

care-sponsored award for an R-2000

custom home which is 56% more

efficient than a home built to current

building code, Nandram says.

On the award winner, Nandram

started with a “supertight” building

envelope: high performance triple-

glazed windows that provide double

the performance of regular; and

upgraded insulation – Heatlock soya-

based spray foam to fill the subspace

and then a layer of insulation on the

inside layer of the studs, 1” poly-

urethane foil face used as a vapour

barrier for additional insulation. The

entire house was spray foamed on the

inside for an air tightness of .77 ACH

(air changes per hour) at 50 Pa (pas-

cals of pressure or lbs/sq. in.).

“With a building envelope like

this, the home is like a thermos. The

heating and cooling load drops and it

doesn’t take much energy to heat or

cool,” Nandram says.

You can afford to use a small

furnace and even a cheaper one with

this kind of envelope, Nandram adds,

“Especially since some of the new heat-

ing, ventilating and air conditioning

(HVAC) technology doesn’t pay back in

the short term. For example, I’d never

encourage someone to put in geother-

mal in a small house. It’s a matter of

balancing economy and environment.”

The R-2000 home’s HVAC system

has a boiler to supply hot water for

secondary heating and radiant heating

in the floors, which is more for thermal

comfort, he says, but ultimately lowers

Ottawa’s RND Construction’s award-winning green home.

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Sharing Resources: The Essence of Green


the thermostat because “When

the feet are warm, the rest of

you feels warm.”

Costs:Building green is more expen-

sive, Nandram admits – more

insulation and better windows

equals more money. For an

ENERGY STAR home, he would

add 5% and for R-2000 he’d

add about 10% to the cost.

The company’s minimum

building standard is ENERGY

STAR – they’ve completed

three Leadership in Energy

and Environmental Design

(LEED) Platinum homes in

Ottawa and are currently

building two R-2000 homes.

He does find energy effi-

ciency a harder sell to clients,

especially when the economy

is soft or in a bad state. But he

also finds most clients will do

green upgrades incrementally

as you’re making good argu-

ments for greater efficiency.

For example, the R-2000

house that garnered RND the

Enercare award started out as

a regular house construction,

but as Nandram made sugges-

tions, the clients added on.

“You need to explain to peo-

ple – a hedge against future

price increases, especially.

They get it because nobody

knows what tomorrow’s oil

and gas prices will be.”

Costs are also more easily

controlled when everything is

decided ahead of time at the

design stage – midconstruc-

tion change is always expen-

sive. So the furnace, windows,

wall construction and insula-

tion have all been decided

long before subcontracting

the trades to install them.

And as Nandram explains, “It

makes absolutely no differ-

ence to the drywaller if you’re

using a green product or not,

and if you tell the insulation

company they’re putting R20

instead of R12, it makes no

difference.”

But you do need to research

the technologies before build-

ing to understand how they

work together, “because one

thing always impacts some-

thing else,” Nandram says.

He finds an integrated

approach is effective when

it’s put in place at the out-

set of the project. “A highly

effective way to build is to

involve the architect, owner,

engineer, and trades from the

beginning, especially when

building green. We hold a

design charette, and the archi-

tect might say, ‘I want a big

window here,’ and the owner

says, ‘Yes, I like that,’ and the

engineer says, ‘There has to

be a beam here,’ and I come

in and say, ‘We have to put in

triple-glazed glass.’”

This approach – known as

the integrated design process

(IDP) – helps create “best

value. It ensures that balance

between economy and effi-

ciency. I really hate it when

someone throws a set of plans

to me and says, ‘Give me a

price.’ I like to work as a team

to put the pieces together.

Those are my most successful

projects – we don’t make mis-

takes, and don’t end up install-

ing something we regret later,

because it’s decided at the

beginning what the important

elements are, and everyone

agrees about that.” BB





W hen Ancaster-based

builder Landmart

Homes decided to

rebrand and expand its

business, it hired former

Greenpark director Anthony Martelli to

take the company to its next stage.

For Martelli, now chief operating

officer for LIV Communities (as the

company’s expansion is now known),

one of the major challenges was

determining how to distinguish LIV’s

homes in the GTA and Golden Horse-

shoe from the competition’s.

Martelli, a longtime supporter of

energy-efficient building who devel-

oped Greenpark’s Eco-Friendly pro-

gram, saw an opportunity in adopting

the Better Than Code approach to

help set LIV apart as a quality builder

and industry leader.

“We want to be an example of a

company willing to redefine itself

beyond what most builders are

featurestoryB y tr a c y H a n e s

Living the Best with LIV CommunitiesLandmart Homes rebrands itself as “an example of a company willing to redefine itself beyond what most builders are doing.”

LIV Communities distinguishes itself from other builders by offering LIV Better, LIV Best and LIV for the Future.

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doing,” says Martelli.

Better Than Code is

a simplified platform

that helps builders of

high performance homes

reach their objectives by

modelling energy per-

formance in a way that’s

not subject to the rigid

guidelines of programs

such as ENERGY STAR,

Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design

(LEED) and R-2000. It

allows flexibility in choosing how to

build and which features to include,

and uses the comprehensive and

long-established HERS (Home Energy

Rating System) index to measure

home performance.

LIV’s model home in its Casablanca

community in Brampton will showcase

features that will provide homeowners

with substantial savings on their natu-

ral gas and hydro bills, future proof

them against rising energy costs, and

offer enhanced indoor air quality and

comfort. The 4,254 sq. ft. five-bedroom

model home is on a 50 ft. lot.

The homes at Casablanca will offer

homebuyers a choice of three pack-

ages, all built beyond the current

Ontario Building Code (OBC) criteria.

LIV Better is the standard package

and those homes will be 15% more

energy efficient than OBC; LIV Best is

25% above code, with features such

as enhanced insulation and windows,

an ERV (energy recovery ventilator),

drainwater heat recovery Power-Pipe,

compact fluorescent (CFL) lighting, a

condensing hot water heater, improved

windows and a 16 seasonal energy effi-

ciency ratio (SEER) air conditioner.

The top end package, LIV for the

Future, is 50% better than code, with

features such as the best available ERV,

superior windows with a 1.4 U value

rating that minimize air conditioning,

Power-Pipes on two drains, the 96%

efficient Amana Goodman furnace

with electronically commutated motor

(ECM), a condensing hot water heater

and a 6.75 kW photovoltaic (PV) solar

system with energy storage battery.

The PV system is one of the more

innovative aspects of a partnership LIV

has formed with Panasonic Canada.

The system will allow homeowners to

store energy produced by the solar

system for use at peak rate periods,

replenish the battery with cheap power

at night, and also provide energy

security in case of a blackout. This

system will be the first installed on a

new production home in Canada, and

will be available as an option on other

selected LIV homes in its Classics and

Casablanca communities in Brampton.

Panasonic is a global leader in

housing innovation that derives more

than 20% of its revenue from hous-

ing. In Japan, its PanaHome division

is a leading home developer. Its

cutting-edge Fujisawa Sustainable

Smart Town, a development that will

have more than a thousand homes

when completed, will have a carbon

footprint 70% lower and use 30% less

water than similar communities.

In this country, Panasonic Canada

forms regional partnerships coast to

coast with leading builders and will

partner with LIV Communities at its

two Brampton communities. Homes

will be equipped with Panasonic

Home Monitoring systems that can be

customized to suit owners’ needs, and

Panasonic WhisperValue ventilation

fans. Homeowners can also add space

management solutions and built-in

kitchen appliances including induction

cooktops with Genius Sensors.

Panasonic and LIV will partner

on the first limited use of vacuum

insulated panels (VIP) in a produc-

tion-built home in Canada, a product

which delivers R63 of insulation value

Living the Best with LIV CommunitiesHERS Index – Home Energy Rating SystemExistingHomes

150 60 48 40 0MORE ENERGy LESS ENERGy

Ontario Building Code Standard

LIV for the Future

Zero EnergyHome

25

HERS helps builders sell energy upgrades.



in one inch. It will be used in attic

hatch assemblies to ensure the integ-

rity of ceiling insulation values.

The Casablanca model will show-

case all the LIV for the Future prod-

ucts, says Martelli, as well as “the

staples” such as stone countertops

and hardwood floors.

Cosmetic features remain first and

foremost on customers’ lists when

they choose upgrades, and Martelli

well knows how difficult it can be to

convince homebuyers to invest money

in energy-efficient features or those

that enhance air quality and comfort.

Greenpark eventually stopped offer-

ing its Eco-Friendly packages because

of limited uptake, though Martelli

stayed in tune with what was happen-

ing in the industry in terms of energy

efficiency and other products that

would conserve resources.

He feels with energy prices ris-

ing, the timing might be right. “And

hitting people in the pocketbook gets

their attention.”

The easy sells are hardwood and

kitchen upgrades, he says, but it takes

time and an informed sales team to

educate the public about the benefits of

choosing energy-efficient upgrades. The

LIV Better home would save homeown-

ers $346 a year over a code-built home,

the LIV Best package would save $868 a

year, and the LIV for the Future option

would offer $2,074 in annual savings.

“Some people have $20,000 to

spend on upgrades and when you’re

pitching these features to them, they

think the builder has a hidden agenda

to make money,” says Martelli. “It

actually costs us to do this. We as

a builder are trying to distinguish

ourselves, to show leadership and be

good corporate citizens. Our mission

statement is Loyalty, Integrity and


Clockwise from top: Anthony Martelli and John Godden present Better Than Code to other builders; thermal bypass inspection helps homes get lower HERS ratings; Better Than Code includes Panasonic WhisperValue fans.PH

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Vision, and we have to live up to this.”

Martelli is hoping buyers can be

convinced of the merits of future

proofing against rising energy costs,

and points out that even if they have

to add the cost of the $6,500–$8,500

energy-efficient upgrade packages to

their mortgage, it’s money well spent.

And by using the HERS index, it’s

easy to show buyers how much each

feature can save them.

“They are surprised to hear, ‘You

will be able to afford a larger home

because it will cost you less to oper-

ate it,’” he says.

Martelli says for a builder like

LIV that builds 250 to 300 homes a

year, their influence is limited when

it comes to raising awareness of the

benefits of eco features, but “We

need the industry to step in and

make a difference. It needs better

promotion from builders, rather

than waiting on code changes.” The

Ontario Building Code (OBC) will take

its next step forward in 2017, but

LIV is already achieving that target

with its standard LIV

Better homes. The LIV

for the Future package is

HERS 25, which is close to

achieving net zero where

a home will produce as

much energy as it uses.

Mortgage lenders could

also help encourage homebuyers

to consider investing in more eco-

friendly features, Martelli says.

“A step in the right direction would

be for banks to offer a preferred rate

or green mortgage,” he says.

What Is HERS?HERS, or the Home Energy Rating Sys-

tem, measures a home’s energy effi-

ciency and assigns it a performance

score. The lower the score, the more

energy efficient a home is. A net zero

home would have a HERS score of

zero and produce at least as much

energy as it consumes on

an annual basis.

It is a proven, long-

established system and

more than 1.5 million

North American homes

have been rated using

HERS.

The HERS index takes into consid-

eration features such as air condition-

ing, lighting, appliances, loads and

gives credit for renewable options

such as solar thermal, solar air and

PV panels. It’s also easy for homebuy-

ers to understand. BB

Tracy Hanes is a freelance writer for the larg-est daily newspaper in Canada and several magazines. www.tracyhanes.ca

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“A step in the right direction would be for

banks to offer a preferred rate or green mortgage.”




No longer the domain of garages

and compost bins, the lane-

ways of Vancouver are filling

up with small energy-efficient homes.

Like most major North American

cities, Vancouver is running out of

land for development and real estate

is skyrocketing. Hemmed in by the

Coast Mountains and the Pacific

Ocean, there’s no place to move out.

As a result lanes have become the

last frontier.

Bryn Davidson and Mat Turner

decided to merge their building and

design backgrounds to form Lanefab

Design/Build just when the City was

moving ahead with bylaw changes to

better accommodate laneway hous-

ing. It was 2009 and the recession had

brought the homebuilding business to

its knees.

Davidson and his wife had already

experimented with small space living

– a 360 sq. ft. condo attached to the

back of a house – and he was keen on

sustainable building generally and net

positive specifically. In the partnership

with Turner, they’d focus on smaller,

more affordable housing forms.

Laneway housing hadn’t yet become

accepted, but Davidson says, “It was a

good housing form. We knew it filled a

need, and would be in great demand.”

Their first laneway house was fin-

ished in May 2010. A small space won-

der of 775 sq. ft. over two floors, it had

bedrooms on the main floor, principal

living space on the second, and a tiny

drive just big enough for one car beside

the front door under the second floor

balcony. They’d turned traditional lay-

outs on their head, literally, to capital-

ize on mountain and ocean views from

the second floor living room.

The house generated so much

interest that a thousand people lined

up the first weekend for the open

house. “There’s a lot of pent-up desire

and need, but people didn’t realize

the $200,000 price tag didn’t include

the land,” Davidson says. “Or that it

even came with land.”

And there’s the rub for Vancouver’s

laneway market – bylaws won’t allow

the homes to be severed or sold sepa-

rately from the main house. Which

means they can function only as rent-

als or for family members. Davidson

would like to see the bylaw changed

so the homes could be stratified and

sold, “because Vancouver is missing

this middle housing type, between

condo and full-sized home.”

Vancouver homeowners who

develop the laneway either move in

themselves – and move their grown

children into the family home – or

rent it out. For those lucky young

couples who build on their parents’

property, the laneway house has

become a very affordable alternative,

Davidson says. That said, per square

foot the lane home is more expensive

than Lanefab’s regular-sized homes –

$350/sq. ft. as compared to $250/sq.

ft. for a regular home. The reason is,

“Small buildings have all the expen-

sive elements – kitchen, bath, mechan-

ical – and few of the cheap rooms

(like bedrooms and living rooms) that

dilute the cost in a big home. Fixed

costs like sewer connections are the

same whether you build 500 sq. ft. or

5,000 sq. ft. Many builders got into

trouble on their first lane house by

using regular cost per square foot to

estimate,” Davidson explains.

Although they can’t be severed, the

Fabulous Laneway Houses by Lanefab

Lanefab Design/Build is filling the gap between condos and full-sized homes.

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laneway house is fully independent

of the main house – separate sewer,

water and gas lines, separate address

and mailbox. Its use dictates the

floorplan, says Davidson. For rental,

the bedrooms are on the main floor

and principal spaces upstairs, so the

balcony overlooks the lane rather than

intrude on the private space of the

main house. But if it’s for extended

family, the layout is more standard

with principal rooms on the main

floor to allow access to the courtyard

from the ground level.

The bylaws have also created size

restrictions – up to 800 sq. ft. on a

33 ft. lot, or 1,000 sq. ft. on a 50 ft.

lot – but the way Lanefab builds has

allowed them a little extra interior

floor space. Because their wall assem-

bly provides R36 as opposed to the

usual R19 of most homes, Davidson

went to the City arguing that the 13”

wall thickness offers such an energy-

efficient envelope, they should be

granted an extra 6” all the way around

(to compensate for the extra thick

wall). The City agreed.

The homes also can’t be any more

than 18–20 ft. high, which makes for

low ceiling heights on a two-storey

structure, but Lanefab deals with this

by sinking the ground floor 18–24”

below grade, thereby creating just

enough extra volume so both floors

have better ceiling heights.

How Are They Built?Lanefab’s goal is to build only green.

“We don’t want to do ten code build-

ings and one green.” And so they

looked for a system that could be

repeated in both large and lane homes.

It starts with 13” exterior walls –

the Lanefab Hybrid Wall system – that

have an effective insulation value of

R38. It’s a combined outer structural

wall and inner service wall. [Their Pas-

sive House version, with thicker struc-

tural insulated panels (SIP), is R58.]

The outside wall is constructed of

prefab SIP, preassembled at the fac-

tory and installed on-site. It sits on

the concrete foundation, while the

slab-on-grade (which typically has

in-floor heating) is surrounded on all

sides by insulation.

The inner service wall holds the

electrical wiring and plumbing, and

is framed out of 2x4s with a ½”

gap to the SIP. After plumbing and

electrical are installed, the inner

wall is filled with batt or cellulose

insulation and the foundation wall

insulated with spray foam. Because

the SIP acts as a vapour barrier, no

plastic sheeting is needed.

All of Lanefab’s homes – both lane-

ways and regular sized – are designed

and built with energy efficiency in

mind. Their standard construction

ensures an EnerGuide 86 efficiency

rating with an R40 Lanefab Hybrid

Wall and triple-glazed fibreglass win-

dows, aluminum clad fir doors, heat

pump hot water, drainwater recovery,

heat recovery ventilator (HRV), and

whole house light-emitting diode

(LED) lighting. In higher-end homes,

they add a net zero solar energy

system, high efficiency heat pump for

heating, ventilating and air condition-

ing (HVAC), and a green roof.

Although Lanefab builds regular-

sized homes, Davidson says the

laneway model has been great for

experimenting with green building

and likens it to “a kind of R&D lab.”

While laneway housing has gener-

ated a lot of interest, it’s also caused

fears – and tears. In the early days, it

was so contentious that people would

literally cry at community meetings

about how lane homes would ruin

their community, Davidson recalls.

Now people are starting to under-

stand the housing form. It’s also

changed the real estate market – peo-

ple buy a house these days knowing

full well that they or their neighbours

could build a lane home in the back.

Although Lanefab’s homes – lane-

way or otherwise – are built with

advanced energy efficiency tech-

niques aimed at achieving net zero

or net positive results, Davidson says

location is key to sustainability. You

can’t just focus on building a super-

tight house without looking at where

it’s located, says Davidson. “You can

build passive, the gold standard for

building and way beyond Leader-

ship in Energy and Environmental

Design (LEED), and it could even be

net positive, but it doesn’t necessar-

ily make the world better. We ran the

numbers, and found we’d be better

off with a drafty home in a walkable

neighbourhood than an ecohome in

the middle of a field. It may have no

impact, but if you’re having to drive

everywhere, that’s not net positive.”

By all means build passive, super-

insulated, low energy houses, but do

it in walkable neighbourhoods, David-

son says. “That’s net positive.” BB


Beautiful spacious interiors with solar PV. The home rates a HERS 3.PH

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Emmanuel Cosgrove is a self-con-

fessed “ecofreak and extreme

environmentalist.”

He and business partner Mike

Reynolds, editor of www.ecohome.net,

just completed the Edelweiss Home in

the Gatineau Hills 30 minutes north of

Ottawa. It’s a demo for a passive solar

index initiative, they say.

Just to set the record straight, Cos-

grove says he’s no longer a builder.

He only constructs homes now so he

can educate consumers – and build-

ers – on the merits of green building.

The Edelweiss, he says, is “like a

showroom for extremely high perfor-

mance houses … inspired by the whole

extreme performance, 90% savings kind

of passive house movement. We don’t

do the passive house certification, since

we’re not dogmatic about ratings. We

just like to show better performance.”

Although the house is nowhere

close to public transit, they man-

aged to attain not only Leadership

in Energy and Environmental Design

(LEED) Platinum, but it is Canada’s

first and only LEED v4-certified build-

ing of any sort. Since LEED’s use of

life cycle analysis is tough on homes

that aren’t transit-friendly, they added

a charging system for electric cars.

But what really pushed the house

was a supercharged building envelope

and mechanical system, and a long list

of eco-friendly components, from For-

est Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified

wood to rainwater harvesting, ten-zone

hydronic radiant floor with electric

boiler to an air-to-air heat pump that

effectively reduces domestic water heat-

ing by two-thirds. The heat pump, with

its 3:1 efficiency ratio, also acts as an

air conditioner, effectively offering free

air conditioning as you heat your water.

The building envelope is a green

marvel, with insulation at “more than

twice what the Quebec code requires,


The Edelweiss Home: Envelope – First Things First

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The Edelweiss Home in the Gatineau Hills 30 minutes north of Ottawa: A demo for a passive solar index initiative.


locally built windows with triple pane

glass, and specified Low E coatings.”

Adopting traditional passive tech-

niques they designed the house with

60% of the glazing on the south wall,

and they planted deciduous trees clos-

est to the house to avoid traditional

problems of solar overheating all year.

The idea was to insulate to a point

where there would be little or no

heating costs. After passive house

modelling – conducted by a thermal

bridge modeller – showed through

thermal imaging where heat gets lost,

they opted to use ROXUL as the sole

form of insulation. Rigid insulation –

8” R32 ROXUL COMFORTBOARD CIS

(commercial insulated sheathing) –

was added to exterior walls and under

the slab on grade. The ceiling has R95

ROXUL, and 5.5” ROXUL batts in wall

cavities gave them R58 nominal, and

an R50 effective R-value.

Not one ounce of spray foam or sin-

gle piece of cellulose batting was used

– they didn’t even use cans around the

windows, Cosgrove says. “Foam not

only shrinks, but has brominated fire

retardants … which are bioaccumula-

tive and get into our bloodstream.

[And] you don’t want to be putting

persistent chemicals that can leach

into the groundwater. Every decision

we make is not only for environmental

impact, but also health.”

ROXUL is also not a laminated

product, which are “hard to deal with

at the end of their life. When this

house is taken apart in say a hundred

years, you could pick up the ROXUL

and use it on another project. It

retains its structure. Just unscrew it

and away you go.”

Even on an old house, he says, you

can achieve the same performance

as the Edelweiss Home by applying

8” ROXUL COMFORTBOARD to the

exterior walls.

Water management was also a

major consideration. “If you look at

Canadian homes, what determines

the lifespan is water. Basements,

especially, are a major durability

issue in aging homes,” says Cosgrove.

Instead of a basement they designed

large overhangs and surface drains

to manage the surface water. The site

was graded, and the house situated

on a slight slope or berm to ensure

water streams away from and not into

the house. The house also has interior

floor drains in case of flooding inside.

Building to last 50 years – without

maintenance beyond filters – drove

other decisions such as heating, ven-

tilating and air conditioning (HVAC)

and the roof. As Cosgrove points out,

“Homeowners don’t really want to do

anything. I don’t know anyone who

looks forward to home maintenance.”

Durability is why they chose a 6”

intensive green roof. It has a 50-year

life cycle, the dirt protects the mem-

brane from ultraviolet (UV) radiation,

and there’s the curb appeal of a roof

covered in wildflowers.

The Edelweiss has a home energy

rating system (HERS) rating of 34, which

is the lowest you can go before adding

renewables like solar to get closer to

a zero score. Its annual heating cost is

$200 – that’s $1.39 a day for hot water

use and heat plus electrical loads. Add

another $0.91 a day for the electricity

to run the car from the house to Parlia-

ment Hill and back every day, and the

total costs for all energy and transpor-

tation are $2.30 a day – or the price of a

medium Tim’s, quips Cosgrove.

The house isn’t just green, it’s also

beautifully designed and executed.

Interior features include main floor

ceilings crafted entirely of river wood

reclaimed from the old log driving days

and pulled out of the Gatineau River by

divers. Other features include: repur-

posed and sandblasted antique interior

doors; recycled quartz countertop com-

prised of porcelain plates, bottles and

mirrors; locally sourced slate for bath-

room floors and shower walls; high

efficiency toilets and fixtures offering

60% savings over comparable homes;

light-emitting diode (LED) lighting only;

zero volatile organic compounds (VOC)

interior paint and cork floors.

In spite of all the features, the

house cost just $250,000 to build.

“This was definitely about what you

can build on a budget,” Cosgrove says.

“We wanted to show builders what’s

possible in 1,500 sq. ft. of space, and

that you don’t need 2,500 sq. ft. to get

everything you need. We wanted to

show you can have a beautiful house

and not cut corners.” BB


The house isn’t just green, it’s also beautifully designed and executed. Interior features include main floor ceilings crafted entirely of river wood reclaimed from the old log driv-ing days and pulled out of the Gatineau River by divers.

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and he asked me what category the

home would be in at Nationals so

he’d know not to enter that category.

I told him, and true to his word, he

didn’t. It was very high praise from

Paul and it turns out he was right.

The Waterford Cottage won at every

level that year as we also received

our first CHBA Grand SAM award.

However, it was something else

Paul said that caught my attention

and started us on the energy effi-

ciency part of our journey. Paul asked

if the home was an ENERGY STAR

Doug Tarry Homes broke ground

on our first net zero home

a few weeks ago. Seeing the

foundation in and the framing materi-

als on-site got me thinking about how

far we’ve come as a company. So I

thought it might be a good time to tell a

part of our story on the Path of Con-

tinual Improvement, and to thank and

acknowledge some of the many indi-

viduals who helped us along the way.

I remember my brother Bill and I

attending our first Canadian Home

Builders’ Association (CHBA) conference

fromthegroundupB y d o u g ta r r y

in Victoria, B.C., as award nominees. We

went to the awards, saw what we were

up against and had the Wayne’s World

“We’re not worthy” moment. But we

learned, took notes and decided to try

again as we were determined that one

day we’d win a national award. We kept

submitting and it took awhile, but even-

tually we did win. That was a pretty

special night in St. John’s, Nfld.

A few years later we entered our

Waterford Cottage in the local St.

Thomas & Elgin Homebuilder awards.

Paul Rawlings was one of the judges

A Journey on the Path of Continual Improvement

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home and mentioned the ENERGY

STAR for New Homes pilot project.

He suggested we get enrolled in the

program as we were building well

enough that our home should qualify.

As it turns out, that was a watershed

moment in my life and I will always

be grateful to Paul for his encourage-

ment. Many times over the years I

have tried to pay that forward.

So we got enrolled in ENERGY STAR,

got to know Gord Cooke and Tex

McLeod, and immersed ourselves in

building science. Since that time there

have been so many amazing opportuni-

ties that have come our way, it would

be impossible to describe them all here.

A key decision was to make

ENERGY STAR our building stan-

dard. It taught us a more disciplined

approach to our house builds and

we became very aware of control-

ling air leakage. We developed the

Solar Ready Guidelines for National

Resources Canada (NRCan), and this

helped install a culture of innovation

and problem solving. We embraced

advanced framing out of the original

London Energy Efficiency Partner-

ship (LEEP) project and increased our

wall insulation by about 30% over the

Ontario Building Code (OBC).

Then we discovered we had a

moisture/condensation issue with

the main floor header. John Godden

walked us through the issue and we

decided to experiment with foam-

ing the main floor header. When we

looked at the subsequent air changes

per hour (ACH) results, we were sur-

prised to discover a side benefit in air

leakage improvement of nearly 1 ACH.

Currently our average ACH is less

than 0.8 compared to 3.0 for OBC and

1.5 for R-2000 homes.

Another issue was with the tighter

home we couldn’t get our heating,

ventilating and air conditioning

(HVAC) to work right because the

energy requirements for the home

were less than any furnace on the

market. I remember being on a confer-

ence call with Gord Cooke and all the

big American furnace manufacturers

describing our homes, and then there

was total silence on the other end.

That’s when you realize the world

is not the same anymore. They had

no idea what was happening in our

industry and really didn’t seem to

care to help us fit our needs. Chal-

lenge accepted, I thought. Let’s get the

HVAC industry to make right-sized

furnaces. That took about four years

and a lot of work by some really dedi-

cated people (I am getting ahead of

the story). I probably should mention

I had the honour to serve as president

of OHBA during this time, so I had

access to all the right people to help

move this project along, or it might

not have happened.

By sheer luck, Union Gas offered

us the opportunity to participate in

their Optimum Home program. Union

Gas was aware of our furnace-sizing

challenges, and suggested we part-

ner with Dettson Industries to help

bring their smaller furnace to mar-

ket. That’s the Dettson Chinook and

we’re really proud to support their

efforts to supply our industry with

the products we need. The very first

prototype was installed in our discov-

ery home in St. Thomas, Ont. Oh, and

they’re Canadian. How cool is that?

Since then, we also worked to bring

their right-sized air conditioning (AC)

to market, the Dettson Alizé, and now

we are involved with their HVAC in a

Box project.

Along the way we got tired of

basements that didn’t work and

through years of experimenting, we

partnered with ROXUL to develop

the Better Basement Wall and eventu-

ally the Optimum Basement Wall. It’s




still the most searched item

on our company website. In

reviewing the final report

from our Applied Research

Green Innovation Lab Experi-

ence (ARGILE) project with

George Brown on the wall’s

performance, it is very clear

we have to push the govern-

ment to change the Ontario

and National building codes

to enable builders to build

basement walls that work. We

have to get the poly out of

the basement. This is an issue

that is going to get a lot worse

for a lot of builders as they

build tighter homes.

Ironically, building officials

might be even more concerned

with this issue than we are as

builders, as their phone never

stops ringing when there is

a problem. Over the years, I

have also had the opportunity

to work with members of the

Ontario Building Officials

Association (OBOA), both at

the provincial level and locally.

Fundamentally, I see building

officials as our local partners

in helping ensure we build

our homes to meet an ever

more complex code. It was our

partnership with OHBA, OBOA

and other industry stakehold-

ers that led to the creation of

the Energy Efficiency Design

Summary (EEDS) form for

permit application. In case you

haven’t heard, we have a new

code coming I believe we must

address together.

And that leads me all the

way back to our net zero home.

As we increase our energy

efficiency in our homes, it will

be more and more important

that we work through the chal-

lenges with our building offi-

cials as our partners. On that

note, I want to personally say

thanks and good luck to Sandy

Lale, my structural designer

who has shared so many of

the steps of this journey with

me for the last decade, as she

moves on to her new career as

a building official for the City

of St. Thomas. Sandy had a

very large role in my being able

to bring many of these ideas to

life, and I am indebted to her

and her efforts.

What advice can I offer

other builders wanting to

pursue the Path of Continual

Improvement?

• Get involved. The payback

is way more valuable than

the time you commit! Your

local home builders’ asso-

ciation will thank you for

helping your industry and

it’s good for your business.

• Stretch yourself. You just

might find you come to a

solution that improves your

bottom line. It might even

be a benefit to your whole

industry.

• Reach out to your building

officials as your partners.

If you’re not on the same

page, reach out to OHBA and

OBOA. We are doing some

really great work as industry

partners.

• Share. That might be the

part I enjoy most and has

always given me my great-

est benefits as a builder.

A quick shout-out to my

good friend John Meinen as

he becomes the next OHBA

president. And stay tuned for

details on our net zero discovery

home. BB

Doug Tarry Jr. is director of marketing at Doug Tarry Homes in St. Thomas, Ont.


rolled out, could entail. A simplistic

solution to a complex problem without

upfront cost to the municipality.

Because it’s barely possible, at

great cost to the end user, I have a

question: Should we be doing this on

a large scale now and resetting the bar

earlier than 2030?

If there’s a great builder that can

make an economic case for building

these homes today, they will. And as

a voluntary program, it’s manageable.

It will give our industry an oppor-

tunity to gain experience, improve

the end product and work on getting

costs in line.

However, I doubt it will remain

voluntary because it is politically

expedient to mandate net zero at the

municipal level. There is also a cottage

industry of vested interests happy

to see these initiatives move forward

more quickly.

What is often missing in the discus-

sion of remedies to the problem of cli-

mate change is the notion of order of

magnitude. As for priorities on the list

of possible action on net zero, these

are some questions I believe must be

answered:

• How much affordability are we

willing to forgo in an already

unaffordable housing market to

achieve an incremental increase in

energy efficiency in new housing a

few years early?

• How much are new homes actu-

ally contributing to the problem of

global warming?

• Are we really achieving our soci-

etal goals? After all, inadequate,

unhealthy and unaffordable

housing has dire socioeconomic

consequences.

I can’t think of many industries

being coerced into creating a product

that produces as much energy as it

consumes while operating. But I do

believe the new homebuilding indus-

try has made great strides in energy

efficiency and is unparalleled among

private industry.

As for the urge to reset the bar

ahead of the 2030 deadline, why?

It’s not market driven, there are no

economic incentives available, and

it makes decent housing less attain-

able to those who need it most.

Remember the triple bottom line?

I’d say we achieve almost one out of

three. Affordable is good for people

and good for business. Current code

houses are good for the environment.

I guess it comes down to who is defin-

ing the triple bottom line and setting

the level of the bar. BB

Lou Bada is vice-president of low rise construction for Starlane Homes and board director of RESCON (Residential Construction Council of Ontario).

Continued from page 3

thebadatestB y L o u B a d a

• ENERGY STAR® for New Homes• Home Energy Rating System (HERS®) Index• EnerGuide Rating Service• GreenHouse™ Certified


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Technology

Better Builder Magazine, Issue 16 / Winter 2015