Better Builder Magazine, Issue 21 / Spring 2017

ISSUE 21 | SPRING 2017P

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Intensification & AffordabilityMulti-Family ChallengesChanging the Building CodeLow Energy & Water ConservationFinnigan’s WakeThermally Protecting Foam

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BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 21 | SPRING 2017

16

1

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

2The Changing Form of

Low-Rise Housing

by John Godden

THE BADA TEST

3Intensification, Affordability

and the 2017 Ontario

Building Code

by Lou Bada

INDUSTRY EXPERT

6Multi-Family Challenges

by Gord Cooke

INDUSTRY EXPERT

10Changing the Building

Code One Step at a Time

by Michael Lio

BUILDER NEWS

12Rodeo Fine Homes –

Low Energy with Water

Conservation in East

Gwillimbury

by Alex Newman

BUILDER NEWS

22Greyter Awards

by Better Builder Staff

SITE SPECIFIC

25Finnigan’s Wake

by Rob Blackstien

FROM THE GROUND UP

30Thermally Protecting Foam

by Doug Tarry

FEATURE STORY

16Meeting the Challenge

Royalpark Homes is delivering innovative housing options in a

challenging environment.

by Rob Blackstien

12

22

ISSUE 21 | SPRING 2017

On our cover: Bob Finnigan, President, Canadian Homebuilders Association & COO Housing, Herity

Images internally supplied unless otherwise credited.


The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is growing by nearly 100,000 people

a year. In contrast, the average number of housing units

constructed annually is about 35,000. And in 2015, half of these

were low-rise and under four storeys.

Why this trend in low-rise housing? The answer is simple: single-

family homes are expensive to build and service – the average price of a

new one has surpassed $1 million. In order to meet market demand for a

growing population and government-imposed density regulations,

many builders are now offering stacked and row townhouses for a

higher yield on a relatively small footprint. This issue examines the

benefits and drawbacks of these changing housing forms.

There is, of course, the question of cost. Shared walls and multi-

family houses can be more affordable because of lower construction

costs, and they also reduce energy consumption and heat loss. However,

shared floors and walls can cause challenges for sound transmission,

fire protection and egress. Gord Cooke offers detailed tips for achieving

airtightness on page 6.

Many builders, like Rodeo Fine Homes, have experienced the

difficulties of air leakage across party walls with programs like ENERGY

STAR (“Not Their First Rodeo” on page 12). To be successful, builders,

designers and site personnel must collaborate to design, detail and

execute party wall construction that minimizes air leakage. By

compartmentalizing townhouse units, airborne sound and odour

transmission are reduced as more people live closer together.

Attached housing is also becoming narrower and taller, thus

requiring more stairs. A harmonization between the Ontario Building

Code and National Building Code has been proposed that would

increase stair tread length, which means that more space in home

designs would need to be allocated for stairwells. See “Changing the

Building Code, One Step at a Time” by Michael Lio on page 10 for more

on potential changes to stair runs.

Royalpark Homes is a fine example of a builder who is adapting to

different building forms, with offerings from singles to stacked towns to

six-storey mid-rises. “Meeting the Challenge,” our feature on Royalpark,

is on page 16. (See also “Changing Housing Forms, Royalpark Style” on

page 20, for more on specific projects.)

With each Code change comes many challenges with interpretation.

Doug Tarry rolls up his sleeves to have a discussion with local building

officials about thermal protection for foam insulation, and Lou Bada

(page 3) and Bob Finnigan of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association

(page 25) each provide their own take on how government-imposed density

regulations, sustainability and affordability are all inextricably linked.

At the end of the day, no matter what form the building takes,

regulation must be balanced with innovation. BB

Singles, Semis, Stacks and TownsThe Changing Form of Low-Rise Housing

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

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PUBLISHING EDITORJohn B. Godden

MANAGING EDITORWendy Shami [email protected]

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

FEATURE WRITERSRob Blackstien, Alex Newman

PROOFREADINGCarmen Siu

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

CO NTR I B UTO R S

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 21 | SPRING 2017 3

As home builders, we navigate a

complex and often competing

set of governmental rules and

regulations to meet market demand.

The ambitious goals that all four

levels of government aspire to are

eventually converted into legislations

and regulations that invariably affect

home builders. Often though, when

government overreaches, it can make

for some poorly thought out and

contradictory regulation with less

than desirable outcomes for everyone.

Intensification has become

a cornerstone of provincial and

municipal planning policy initiatives

meant to put us on a path toward

more sustainable land development.

Loosely defined, intensification, or

density, means more people living

and working within less space.

Essentially, it means trying to do

more with fewer resources and strains

on the environment, especially where

we can have “in-fill” development

(built within the current urban

boundaries). The most salient effect

here is that we build smaller homes

for people to live in. Although high-

rise buildings represent the densest

form of development, they are not

always appropriate for certain

neighbourhoods or areas. Denser low-

rise building forms are sometimes

needed instead.

“Re-imagined” ground-related

housing – known in the building

industry as back-to-back semi-

detached or back-to-back town-

houses, as well as stacked townhouses

– has made its way into our building

vocabulary. In the last few years,

there has been a rise in demand for

these housing types. These homes

usually fall under Part 9 of the Ontario

Building Code. It is important here to

highlight that the Code, in most

instances, applies equally to all types

and sizes of homes, whether they are

1,000 or 10,000 square feet in size. The

reason for this is plain when you

understand why and how the Code was

developed. I’ll get back to this later.

I’ll now turn to other social policy

goals of government – namely, foster-

ing affordable housing and accessible

housing (for the elderly and physically

challenged). Both are laudable goals,

along with sustainability. There are

hundreds of proposed Code amend-

ments for the current code cycle

review, many of which have caught the

eye of our industry.

In terms of affordability, the

proposals to make (legal) secondary

suites for low-cost rentals in the

basements of homes more plausible

have generated several changes. One is

to mandate an egress window (e.g., 47

inches wide by 36 inches high) in the

basement where an exit door is not

provided.

This becomes a problem. Imagine a

basement of a back-to-back townhouse

or stacked townhouse where three

of the four walls are common (party)

walls with one exterior wall on the front

elevation only. There is often no wall

space available for any size window,

let alone an egress window. With this

regulation, these homes cannot be

built with a basement at all, preventing

new home owners from benefitting

from a secondary suite. It also limits

the possibility of using the basement

as a mechanical/storage room to make

these small units more livable.

On the other hand, local munici-

palities may preclude secondary suites

Intensification, Affordability and the 2017 Ontario Building Code

thebadatest / LOU BADA


for some types of homes or smaller

lot sizes through zoning bylaws.

According to the proposed Code

amendments, builders would still

have to provide a basement egress

window and other provisions for

secondary suites where none could be

built legally. That’s an increased cost

with no benefit. Does that make sense

to you?

New code change proposals to

make houses more accessible, most

notably for the elderly, have focused

on making stair treads (steps) deeper

by an inch, from approximately 10

inches to 11 inches. On most homes,

this makes the stair openings about

one foot, six inches bigger on each

floor. For a new, denser, 13- or 14-foot

wide townhouse (stacked or otherwise)

or semi-detached, this enlargement is

almost unworkable in any satisfactory

way. Small detached houses will suffer

in their designs greatly, too – a new

secondary suite will be even smaller. It

seems we want to encourage intensi-

fication and sustainability, yet make

smaller new homes less livable and

more difficult to build at the same time.

The examples above are just two

proposed code changes – believe me, I

could go on – where contradictions

exist in the regulations based on the

disparate direction of government

policies. We want low-rise intensifi-

cation (sustainability), accessibility

and affordability all at once – and we

want it now. How is this reasonable?

And how will anyone be able to afford a

new home with all of these changes

coming down the pipe all at once?

Mind you, none of these proposed

regulations are a problem in a

10,000 square foot home that we are

discouraged to build; the Code is

applied in the same way for these

homes. However, few owners of

massive homes are interested in

renting out their basements. The Code

was developed as a minimum standard

for the safety of occupants, but these

proposed changes are going to increase

the cost of a new home and hinder the

owner’s ability to earn some cash back

on a crucial investment.

This leads me to ask two questions:

(1) Is regulation the only way to

achieve our goals? And (2) where is

the robust cost–benefit analysis to

prove we need to make these changes?

Let’s face it: if builders were to suggest

changes without a proper cost–benefit

analysis, they would not meet the

ministry’s own submission quality

standards.

The Ontario Building Code and

land-use policies have become

overly politicized and, quite frankly,

dysfunctional in many cases. I support

continuous improvement, fairness

and environmental consciousness, but

uncreative, lazy-minded regulations

designed to placate special interests

just won’t do. Let’s not harm the

industry with more thoughtless

regulation. BB

Lou Bada is Vice President of Low

Rise Construction at Starlane Home

Corporation and sits on the board of

directors for the Residential Construction

Council of Ontario (RESCON).

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In my opinion, both the volume of

multi-family projects and the type of

ownership have a tendency to raise

the performance expectations of

multi-family units by suite owners.

Specifically, in this article, I would

like to focus on “separation anxiety”:

the interest in ensuring high levels

of fire safety, noise and odour

transmission reduction, and air

leakage control between suites. In this

regard, I could claim the U.S. is ahead

of us – at the time of writing this

article, 20 states have adopted a state-

wide code that requires airtightness

testing of all houses, including

multi-family suites. The airtightness

requirement (in all but the most

southern states) is three air changes

per hour at 50 pascal (3 ACH@50)

pressure. In Canada, airtightness

testing is only required in the city

of Vancouver and in the ENERGY

STAR for New Homes program, LEED

projects and Passive House projects.

There is one other fine point

of distinction with respect to

airtightness. The ENERGY STAR

program and Ontario code references

(although mandatory testing is not

required in code) allow for three

different metrics for airtightness: the

volume-based metric of ACH@50 plus

two metrics based on surface area of

the suites. The surface area metrics are

considered to be a fairer way to assess

airtightness in multi-family suites and

thus may be seen as easier to pass than

the U.S. metric.

Airtightness, beyond simply

meeting a code or program require-

ment, is also an important factor in

noise and odour transmission control.

So let’s explore airtightness strategies

and techniques in separation walls.

The first strategy should be to

have the architect identify and

detail the air barrier for separation

walls. This sounds straightforward

enough, but it has been our experience

that architects, and even material

suppliers, haven’t given this enough

thought, and we end up cobbling

together components on site with the

construction team.

For example, in high-rise buildings

in Toronto, demising walls are often, or

at least substantially, concrete to carry

structural loads. These walls are

inherently airtight, so we find builders

regularly meet the LEED airtightness

requirements for “compartmentaliza-

tion”. (This term was coined out of

research that was conducted primarily

in Toronto in the early 2000s and is a

term we should all commit to.)

In low-rise multi-family, the typical

demising or party wall is a double 2

x 4 wall with a one-inch air space to

Recently, I was asked to present a building science session to a large group

of multi-family home builders in the U.S. In my research for the event, it

was interesting to note both a few differences and similarities between

the Canadian and U.S. multi-family market. For example, it will probably be no

surprise to readers of this article that the CMHC Housing Market Outlook stats for

2016 show that 60% to 65% of total housing starts are multi-family, both in Ontario

and in Canada as a whole. In contrast, U.S. housing starts reported by the National

Association of Home Builders (NAHB) indicates multi-family units represent just

30% to 35% of starts. Moreover, it has been my experience that the U.S. multi-

family units are more commonly built as rental properties whereas, specifically in

Ontario, the trend has been for projects to be condominium ownership.

industryexpert / GORD COOKE

Multi-Family Challenges

The challenge, though,

is still how to detail that

air barrier through floor

separations, intersecting

walls and at the ceiling.


meet the one-hour fire separation

requirements. That one-inch air

space, often directly connected to

outside and the attic, presents a

problem. It means both sides of the

wall need to be treated as outside

walls and need to be detailed as such.

In Canada, we typically use poly as

the primary air barrier on exterior

walls. Thus we get asked if we can use

poly on either side of the party walls.

Some would worry that this presents

a double vapour barrier risk. In fact,

both sides of the wall are warm, so it

doesn’t really present a vapour risk –

but if water did happen to get in the

wall, it would have very low drying

potential and thus not a very forgiving

assembly. The poly could be replaced

with a permeable membrane, such as

Tyvek, to avoid that concern.

The challenge, though, is still how

to detail that air barrier through floor

separations, intersecting walls and

at the ceiling. Of course, drywall on

its own is an excellent air barrier if

detailed correctly at all intersections.

Indeed, in the U.S., I see shaft liner

as the demising wall of choice: two

layers of one-inch drywall in a metal

H-clip assembly erected between the

2 x 4 interior walls. These assemblies

typically provide a two-hour fire

separation and have excellent sound

transmission co-efficient (STC) ratings

of over 60.

Oddly though, I know of none that

have an approved air sealing strategy

for the H-clips, and thus they still

leak air, even though they look to

be very airtight. There is a relatively

new assembly coming our way called

FlameBlock by LP. It is a fire-coated

oriented strand board (OSB) that is

used for both structural integrity and

fire protection of partition walls (as

well as exterior wall applications). It

too has excellent STC ratings in the

60+ range. Check out the assembly

on the Construction Instruction App

(available in the App Store for iOS or

Google Play for Android).

The second strategy, after the

architect identifies the overall air

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barrier assembly, is to work out all

the ever-more complex intersections,

transitions and penetrations on

site. Start by compartmentalizing

those one-inch air spaces. Use a

fully detailed exterior house wrap to

transition across the fire separation

wall on exterior walls. Use a thin

sheet metal plate between floors and

at attics to seal the one-inch space

between those separations. Use

blocking and caulking to seal between

the primary air barrier and any steel

or concrete block structural elements

at each and every floor or wall

penetration. We often see confusion

on how to handle bumped-out walls

or chases for mechanical systems.

Again, first identify the primary air

barrier plane and seal to that. This

often means the best thing to do is to

drywall or use a thin ply sheathing or

OSB behind the bump-out to maintain

the air barrier plane (much like you

would treat behind a tub or shower on

an exterior wall) and then build the

bump-out in front of that.

Finally, air test early. In a multi-

family project, complete a mock-up

suite to demonstrate the accepted air

barrier details to all trades early in

the process. Have them experience

an airtightness test to feel the impact

of the work they do. Given the high

expectations of the residents who are

likely to invest in these beautiful, but

often complex, urban multi-family

projects, you need every trade to

commit to ensuring high levels of

separation between units. It all starts

with excellent airtightness details. BB

Gord Cooke is president of Building

Knowledge Canada.

The second strategy

is to work out all the

ever-more complex

intersections,

transitions and

penetrations on site.


Barrie, GTA West, GTA NorthEric Byle | 416-937-8793

Toronto EastAl Crost | 416-676-0168

Available to water heater customers whose equipment is not operational (i.e. no hot water)


industryexpert / M ICHAEL L IO

So why did the NBC change the

run dimension? According to the

National Research Council, in 2012,

falls on stairs resulted in approxi-

mately 300 deaths, 9,000 hospitaliza-

tions and almost 100,000 emergency

room visits across Canada. This

resulted in direct health care spend-

ing of $476 million. The scientific

literature was finally available that

established a relationship between

stair geometry and falls. It showed

that the stair run is directly correlated

to the falls that are experienced.

As part of the Code review cycle

for the 2015 NBC, a national joint

task group on step dimensions

(JTG) was established. The JTG

reviewed technical literature, studies

and reports, and was tasked with

delivering a cost-benefit analysis of

various step geometries. The JTG

included three representatives from

the health sector, three home/stair

builders, one regulator and two

general-interest representatives.

Here is what they found: larger runs

will reduce the number of falls on

stairs and significantly increase

the safety of stairs in homes. The

result: dramatically fewer ER visits,

hospitalizations and deaths, and a

reduction in health care spending

across Canada.

Five run sizes over 210 millimetres

were analyzed for their cost–benefit

to society. A 255-millimetre run

provides the best net positive benefits

under conservative assumptions.

Shorter runs can result in loss of

balance, slipping off the step, missteps,

oversteps, heel scuffs, crabbing and

foot overhang. Larger runs result in

higher stability by offering increased

space for foot placement. The technical

literature revealed that larger runs

mitigate risk falls for all age groups in

all conditions (including when users

are intoxicated, when wearing high

heels, or where stairs are poorly lit).

How will this Code change impact

builders? If the proposed change is

successful and the next OBC requires

a minimum run dimension of 255

millimetres, stair designs will need

to be reworked as the stairs will

require more space. The JTG studied

the impact of the change on space-

constrained designs. They found that

some unusual space-constrained

designs would be challenged with the

new stair geometry. But for the vast

majority of houses, the change will be

easily accommodated.

This is an important change, and

the JTG report highlights the need

to implement it: across Canada, one

in 200 homes with the current step

dimensions will be the scene of a

stair-related fall that results in death

or permanent total disability (over a

75-year service life). It is estimated that

this Code change would reduce fall

incidents by 64%. Given this significant

potential safety benefit, builders are

looking to the upcoming OBC review

cycle to take that next step. BB

Michael Lio is the former executive

director of the Consumers Council

of Canada and the Homeowner

Protection Centre.

Changing the Building Code, One Step at a Time

There is currently a proposed change to the Ontario Building Code (OBC)

relating to the minimum run dimension of stairs. The change would

harmonize the OBC with the 2015 National Building Code (NBC), which

changed the minimum run for a private stair with a rectangular tread from 210

millimetres to 255 millimetres. The change would also harmonize requirements

in the province with those in the U.S.

Larger runs will reduce

the number of falls on

stairs and significantly

increase the safety of

stairs in homes.

RISERUN

TREADDEPTH

NOSING

STAIR TERMINOLOGY



buildernews / ALE X NE WMAN

That’s a lot of water, and regions

want to make sure that doesn’t go up.

In fact, York Region has developed

stringent water conservation guide-

lines, and some municipalities within

the region are even more austere. The

town of East Gwillimbury, for example,

outlines a three-pronged approach in

its Sustainable Development Invest-

ment Partnership (SDIP) conservation

guidelines for new builders: water

conservation, ENERGY STAR

construction and landscaping

measures.

Two years ago, a local developer

purchased a parcel of land with those

sustainability guidelines in place.

While higher densities were permitted

in these cases, the town’s stringent

water conservation expectations

affected other aspects of building the

site, such as ENERGY STAR home

construction, which must deal with the

air leakage so typical in the townhouse

form, certain landscaping require-

ments, and dealing with developing

water mains that don’t leak. It involves

working with a third party to conduct

leak detection checks. This would be an

onerous undertaking for any builder,

As water becomes scarcer, government bodies will be looking for ways

to conserve the precious commodity. In Canada, it is plentiful for now

– but global water tables are dropping and piping in water is growing

more costly. The Great Lakes, which hold 20% of the world’s fresh water, isn’t an

answer, since eight American states have already looked into diverting water

from there. The best answer isn’t only to secure resources, but to work at reducing

consumption. Right now, Canadians are one of the highest per capita water users

in the world, averaging out at 251 litres per person per day.

Not Their First RodeoMarkham Builder Leads in Sustainable Building


but the developer was familiar with

Rodeo Fine Homes’ previous

experience in sustainable building.

In 2009, Rodeo built Canada’s first

LEED Platinum-certified community

in Newmarket. That’s when Rodeo

principals Frank Morrow and Vince

Naccarato were first introduced to

Clearsphere’s John Godden, who

facilitated the LEED designation

by helping to design the most

appropriate components.

Then, in 2014, when Naccarato

and Morrow purchased the East

Gwillimbury property, they again

consulted Godden – this time to help

design a set of components that would

satisfy the region’s water conservation

guidelines, says Frank Muto, Rodeo’s

construction manager.

Muto first started with Rodeo

once they’d purchased the East

Gwillimbury property. His extensive

construction background both in

operations and administration – he

started in the industry in 1985 after

getting an economics degree – gave

him the on-site know-how and the

administrative overview to tackle

the challenges of the sustainability

guidelines.

Since the land was already

developed, Rodeo only had to under-

stand the guidelines within the

context of construction – developing

construction drawings and model

types, and handling marketing and

sales, Muto says. “It’s what every

builder working in that town would

have to deal with.”

But it’s not necessarily something

that builders – or their trades – have

a lot of experience with, Muto says.

“Some trades have never been trained

in this, so we have to inspect the work

afterward just to make sure. I don’t

understand why the union doesn’t

train the workers on this stuff so

13

Left to right: David Fifield (Assistant), Frank Muto (Construction Manager) and Sergio Conforti (Site Supervisor) of Rodeo Fine Homes.

As water becomes scarcer,

government bodies will

be looking for ways to

conserve the precious

commodity. The best

answer isn’t only to secure

resources, but to work at

reducing consumption.


everyone’s on the same page. This is

where building is going, and better to

learn now and be ahead of the pack

when the time comes.”

To help Rodeo’s management more

fully understand water conservation,

as well as building to ENERGY STAR

standards, Godden held seminars in

the office.

At the Heritage Collection site,

water conservation meant including

low-flow toilets and faucets for sinks

and showers, low-usage dishwashers

and washing machines, on-demand

hot water recirculation systems and

an approved residential humidifier.

Grey water recycling was not one

of the required features. To ensure

proper drainage (and not water

runoff), the landscaping had to have a

minimum six inches of topsoil.

To satisfy ENERGY STAR, the

homes have HVAC systems using

a Flowmax/Airmax combination

heating system, EXCEL exterior

insulated sheathing, solar ready

rough-in and high-efficiency

appliances.

A big challenge with townhomes

is the sound issues and air leakage

that come from the party wall. Muto

says architects aren’t usually involved

in the building process, “so their

drawings don’t always reflect what’s

required for building party walls.”

That meant redrawing the party

wall for building purposes and

beefing it up, over and above ENERGY

STAR requirements. “We could have

used fibreglass insulation, which

would have been less expensive,”

Muto says, “but I decided in

consultation with Sergio Conforti and

others to use ROXUL COMFORTBATT

R14 on both sides of the party wall,

which provided greater sound

attenuation and a higher fire grading.”

They also used ROXUL between the

floor joists. It was recommended to add

Super Six poly to one side of the party

wall to help compartmentalize each

unit for air leakage purposes. And where

the party wall ends, at both the front

and back of the unit, extra attention

had to be paid to capping and taping.

While townhomes are a better

way to go for efficiency and density

(reducing impact on the land), there

are challenges with meeting some

of the ENERGY STAR requirements,

particularly when it comes to the

party wall and air leakage. On the

inside and outside corners of the

units, where there is higher potential

for air leakage because they don’t

always overlap properly, a four-inch

flashing is required. The one Muto

uses is Dow’s Weathermate straight

flashing, coupled with Weathermate

construction tape for sealing the butt

joints in the sheathing and around

windows and doors for a complete

weather barrier. “It does make a

difference what you use, even on

what seems like a small detail, like

tape,” Muto says. “We used another

brand but it peeled, and even though

it ultimately gets covered up with the

exterior cladding, it’s still important to

get proper adhesion. The tape is double

the price, but we haven’t had any

problems with it since switching.”

There is also sound attenuation to

consider (as well as odours), and the

aim is to achieve “compartmental-

ization,” which means creating each

unit to be as airtight as possible to

reduce sound, odour and air leakage,

as well as maximizing the fire

separation. Muto, in consultation with

the manufacturer, decided that ROXUL

would provide the best opportunity to

combat all of those issues. Because

ROXUL doesn’t burn and is three times

more dense than fibreglass, it’s a better

fire separation and also raises the

sound transmission class (STC). Part 9

of the Building Code requires a

minimum of 53; ROXUL, because of its

properties, increases that to 60.

Most builders don’t use ROXUL

because it’s more expensive, but Muto

very quickly saw the wisdom in using

it. “We’re not going to mess around

with saving a few dollars when there’s

a superior product that can cover all

those bases – higher fire separation,

sound and odour block – and reduce

air leakage.” BB

Alex Newman is a writer, editor and

researcher at www.alexnewmanwriter.com.

ROXUL Comfortbatt and Firestop reduce air leakage and provide an STC of 60.

The second strategy

is to work out all the

ever-more complex

intersections,

transitions and

penetrations on site.


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Meetingfeaturestory / ROB BL ACKSTIEN


Royalpark Homes is

delivering innovative

housing options

in a challenging

environment

Royalpark Homes has been leaving

its mark in Ontario for over three

decades, having developed housing

communities in Toronto, Alliston,

Markham, Brampton, Barrie and

Mississauga. The company’s raison

d’etre is building quality homes that

will enhance the communities in

which they’re situated. In a nutshell,

Royalpark’s philosophy is building

homes with the communities’ and

purchasers’ interests at heart.

As a small, hands-on company, Royalpark

can provide home owners with a personal touch

– but its size has not prohibited it from also being

an innovator. Royalpark considers itself a next-

generation builder, one that has been pushing

the envelope for years with a key focus on

sustainability and adopting innovative techno-

logies designed to raise the bar for all builders.

the Challenge

The Bean – A six storey mixed use building with 69 residential units and four commercial units.


The company’s track record in

green building speaks for itself: the

first LEED Silver house in Markham;

the first Enbridge Savings by Design

home in Brampton; the most

efficient wall system in Ontario as

per a Ryerson University study; and,

most recently, a partnership with

Panasonic Eco Solutions that resulted

in battery storage systems being

included in homes at Royalpark’s

Simcoe Shores in Barrie – a first in

Canadian housing history, according

to Doug Skeffington, director of land

development.

“It was mandatory that every

single house had to have [the Pana-

sonic battery storage system],” says

project manager Chris Glassow. “We

looked into providing it as an option

in the past,” but the market did not

seem ready to accept it at the time.

But surpassing the Building

Code has been a long-standing goal

of Royalpark’s, Glassow explains:

“People have been building houses

the same way in Ontario for genera-

tions, and a lot of times people want to

just do it the same way they’ve always

done it… We kind of move along

incrementally, as the Building Code

pushes us in a certain direction – and

it does take that political heaviness

to sort of hit us in the head every now

and then, much like what’s happen-

ing now – but certainly what we’re

proposing to do extends well beyond

where the Building Code is right now.”

Driving the market forward

through innovation is not always

as simple as it sounds, because it

requires buy-in from both the home

buyers and – more importantly –

city hall, Skeffington says. “We’ve

been trying to sort of do things with

more of a comprehensive package,

including land development ideas. It

wasn’t necessarily that the market was

a bit of an issue, but the bureaucracy

had a real difficult time understanding

it, so we had to really try to dummy it

down a lot and focus on three or four

elements of the overall game plan.”

That’s exactly what Royalpark did

to push through its Barrie plan, and

now “everyone’s pretty excited about

getting this thing off the ground.”

He says Royalpark is working

with the City of Barrie and the

power company to understand the

ramifications this development will

have on the grid and on the house

construction requirements. “It adds a

bit more of an expense, but this is the

only thing in your house that’s actually

going to make you money,” Skeffington

adds. (For more on the ongoing issue

of extra costs associated with net

zero initiatives butting up against

the housing affordability crisis, see

“Finnigan’s Wake” on page 25.)

Skeffington says he has a different

take on the affordability issue.

His belief is that if the home has

sustainable features and is going to

reduce municipalities’ operating

budgets in terms of maintenance of

roads, garbage collection, etc., “then

perhaps there’s an opportunity to take

a look at how these kinds of houses get

taxed and how we pay development

charges on these kinds of homes if

we’re creating this benefit.”

Beyond that, home buyers are

paying less in utilities thanks to some

of these innovations. For instance,

Skeffington says the solar battery

storage system can provide annual

savings of $2,500 to $3,000. “So

operationally, your home can become

more affordable the more you embrace

these kinds of things that reduce other

components of what affordability

is, because it’s not just the house

construction: it’s the taxation, it’s

Houses at Simcoe Shores include a solar battery storage system and sold out under the Power Haus brand.


maintenance and everything else that goes in. So if you can

attack it from a bunch of different angles, it might be able

to offset the additional cost of construction.” Skeffington

also hopes that, as sustainable construction becomes more

mainstream, it will become much less expensive to deploy

this technology.

Banks need to play a role here, too, he adds. “Why not

provide the bonuses? As developer/builder, we’re prepared

to take the leap in pushing our community ahead, but

[banks should] give the benefit to the end user because

they’re the ones that are, at the end of the day, going to

drive how much we’re able to do. So give them a better

deal on their mortgage. Create affordability that way, with

low interest on sustainable programs that can incorporate

into homes.”

He believes the time to drive this forward is now.

“To affect real change, you’ve got to get on with it. You

have to do it and you have to show real world examples that

work and get rid of that notion that the whole world is going

to fall apart because you’ve got some solar panels on your

roof, you’re dealing with grey water and you’re doing things

a little differently – because you’re always going to get

naysayers that suggest there’s going to be severe economic

collapse if we do this,” Skeffington says.

Roof truss and woodsill connection.

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Electricaloutlet

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Amvic insulatingconcrete forms

Amdeck floor &roof system

Exterior woodsiding installed

as per localbuilding code

Amvic highimpact

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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

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Baker Street

Featuring 81 stacked townhomes, Baker

Street is not named after the 1978 Gerry

Rafferty song, but rather the bakery that

previously existed there. Apparently,

the location also once featured an

afterhours house that rumours suggest

may have been a booze can.

“You’ve got to create the opportun-

ities for developers to go in and create

in these communities. Get rid of the

old and bring in something that’s new

and vibrant and not a nuisance. And if it

becomes overly cost-prohibitive, then

those mid-rise sites that are scattered

throughout the city will continue to be

dormant and attract the wrong kind of

neighbours for the existing residents,”

explains Doug Skeffington.

Chris Glassow says Royalpark did

some technically innovative things at this

project, including a groundwater filtration

system that employs a Jellyfish filter to

clean both groundwater and storm water.

Baker Street is currently about one-

quarter occupied as some of the units

are still being finished. Final landscaping

is expected to be wrapped up this year.

The Bean

This six-storey mid-rise building will

include 69 residential units and three

or four commercial units, one of which

will possibly be a coffee shop. The bean

theme abounds, as each suite type is

named after a different type of bean.

Changing Housing Forms, Royalpark Style

Originally slated to be a wood frame,

the building would have been unique

given its height, but it is now currently

designed with a light-gauge structural

steel frame, Glassow says. The property

is situated on an old service station,

so Royalpark remediated that land and

the contaminated soil as that area has

had nothing but service stations and

mechanics shops since around the 1960s,

he explains.

Located about 600 metres west of

Baker Street, The Bean is completely

sold, with construction expected to

begin shortly once a couple of items are

approved by the city.

Green Earth VillageGreen Earth Village in East Gwillimbury

will be built in partnership with Signature

Developments and will be one of the

first near zero communities developed in

Canada. All elements of the community

plan will be designed to minimize

greenhouse gas emissions to ensure the

smallest GHG footprint and environmental

impact possible. The plan includes the

adoption of state-of-the-art energy

technologies, including solar panels,

home battery storage, geothermal

systems and grey water abatement

systems.

Green Earth Village building and

planning innovation will demonstrate that

greenfield communities can incorporate

cutting-edge technologies and remain

affordable for all their valued customers,

says Skeffington. – RB

Traditionally players in the single-family home space, Royalpark is at the forefront

of the current transition to different housing forms. Their two recent projects in

Toronto – Baker Street (a stacked townhouse development) and The Bean (a mid-

rise) – and Green Earth Village (coming soon to East Gwillimbury) showcase the

builder’s continuing innovation.


Clearly, when dealing with an innovative builder like

Royalpark, there is a learning curve for the city. Take

Toronto’s handling of some issues that cropped up with two

newer Royalpark projects that involved different housing

forms: Baker Street (stacked townhouses) and The Bean

(a mid-rise). (For more on these developments, see the

sidebar “Changing Housing Forms, Royalpark Style.”)

Royalpark is fairly new to the mid-rise market and

they quickly discovered that the city may still be trying

to develop its own approach to this housing form, too.

“There is a lot of planning work that’s gone into trying to

promote mid-rise developments, as they are less impactful

on communities and it helps create the hierarchy of built

forms that people have different opportunities to live in if

you don’t want to live in a high-rise,” Glassow says.

However, given the paucity of these projects, “the

bureaucracy treats that project type like a high-rise

because it’s what they’re used to.” Glassow said that

tendency manifested itself in section 37 requests that are

much more easily absorbed in a high-rise, as opposed to a

mid-rise where the costs will only be spread out over 60 or

70 units.

“It creates a difficult financial model to push it because

you’re not making tons of profit on these kinds of homes,

so you’re hopeful of filling in a market where you can get

in and out fairly quick – and that creates benefit, but the

bureaucracy needs to start to take a look at how they can

advance these projects in a cost-effective way,” he says.

At Baker Street, two major issues cropped up after the

units had been sold and the original approvals had gone

through, delaying the project and adding some serious costs.

One involved Royalpark having to replace a water

main, and the second saw the builder forced to retrofit

the building to accommodate an emergency generator

while having to revise the parking garage plans before its

discharge permit could be approved.

It’s a scenario that tends to arise when one planner has

moved on and a second one is reviewing the plans, seem-

ingly through an entirely different lens – a situation that

can wreak havoc on a builder’s bottom line. It only seems

to cement the old adage that you can’t fight city hall. BB

Rob Blackstien is a Toronto-based

freelance writer. Pen-Ultimate.ca


buildernews / BET TER BU I LDER STAFF

With more than 400 entries

in nine categories, the

2017 National Association

of Home Builders’ International

Builders’ Show (NAHB IBS) features

the best home building products of

the year. Toronto-based Greyter Water

Systems was extremely honoured and

humbled to receive the Best Green

Building Product award in Orlando,

Florida in January for the Greyter

HOME – a residential system that

recycles shower and bath water so

that it can be reused for toilet flushing

or irrigation. The Greyter HOME is an

affordable and easy to install solution

that is capable of meeting water

quality standards of major markets,

requires little maintenance and leaves

a small footprint in the home.

A very special thank you to both

the NAHB for their nomination and

to the judges – 28 industry and media

professionals – for selecting the

Greyter HOME as this year’s winner.

We also recognize and salute this

year’s finalists for all of their accom-

plishments. We would like to extend a

huge thank you to the Greyter Water

Systems team for their hard work and

perseverance. And, of course, thank

you to our extended family and

friends for always supporting us.

We are also deeply grateful to Craig

Wardlaw (National Research Council

Canada Industrial Research Assist-

ance Program), the WaterTAP team,

the MaRS team, Brenda Lucas

(Southern Ontario Water Consortium),

Rita Patlan (Ministry of International

Trade) and Dr. Brent Wootton and the

Centre for Alternative Wastewater

Treatment staff. BB

Greyter Voted the Best by NAHB

Mark Sales, Dana Morgoch and John Bell, part of the proud Greyter team.

John Bell and Mark Sales presented with the Best Green Building Product award.




sitespecific / ROB BL ACKSTIEN

However, it’s hard to be envious

of the task he faces – namely, trying

to balance a national housing market

that has very different regional

concerns, while attempting to

address two somewhat conflicting

issues: the affordability crisis and

the government’s goal to mandate

sweeping energy efficiency and

environment-related initiatives.

Going back to Finnigan’s roots, it

seems he’s always been destined to

work with Hugh Heron. As a 16-year-

old in the late 1970s, Finnigan’s

first job was cleaning straw out

of new basements before Heron’s

building company put floors down.

It would take about a half hour to

complete, and Finnigan would split

$200 between four workers. Not

bad, considering his other friends

were making $1.50 an hour working

at McDonald’s, he said. (Ontario’s

minimum wage was actually $3 an

hour in 1979.)

Finnigan continued to work as a

labourer in the housing industry over

the next few summers, and when he

finished university in 1982 (studying

economic geography retail locations),

the job market was pretty spotty, so

he wound up back at Heron Homes,

spending about a year in its services

department. Finnigan finally landed a

gig in his chosen field, working briefly

for Dominion Stores before spending

about four years doing retail location

analysis for a subsidiary of Sobeys.

In 1988, just before the end of an

economic boom, he returned to Heron

Homes (then called The Heron Group)

and he’s been there since. Finnigan is

currently Heron’s COO, Acquisitions

and Housing. Now 57, he is married

with children (two daughters) and

enjoys golfing, skiing and playing

hockey in his “spare” time.

Of course, much of that leisure time

is now being ticketed towards perhaps

his greatest challenge yet as the head

of the CHBA. He officially took the

reins in early summer, but got going in

earnest in the fall.

Now, Finnigan is confident his

time at the local and provincial levels

prepared him well for the national

gig. “They’re very, very similar. I

think the only difference is the people

who you’re talking to and how wide

a spectrum you have to have in your

discussions,” he says.

At the local level, Finnigan would

deal with mayors and chief municipal

planners about issues specific to them.

Moving up to the provincial level, he’d

deal with Queen’s Park, where “it’s a

little more nebulous as to direct involve-

ment,” as he addressed issues like

development charges and the Building

Code. And on the national scale, “it’s

Finnigan’s WakeThe new president of the CHBA is trying to make waves with

the government to help solve the housing affordability crisis.

Bob Finnigan certainly has the background to be very successful as the

new president of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA).

His long-time experience in the housing industry, combined with his

extensive association background (he is past president of both the Greater

Toronto Home Builders’ Association [now BILD] and the Ontario Home

Builders’ Association, and also served a six-year stint as a Tarion Warranty

Corporation board member), makes him an ideal person for the job.

Bob Finnigan President, Canadian Home Builders’ Association & COO Housing, Herity


just trading an MPP for an MP.”

Finnigan can easily outline an

array of issues the Canadian home

building industry is currently facing

– including mortgage rates, down

payment requirements, development

charges, energy efficiency, and

affordable housing vs. housing

affordability – but points out that

“they all roll up to one thing –

affordability.”

He explains that in Toronto and, to

a lesser extent, Vancouver, it’s simply

a matter of demand outstripping

supply. However, Finnigan’s challenge

is that at the national level, you can’t

affect what the province does with

that supply. Nevertheless, he’s doing

his best to “spread the message that

if you screw with the economics of

housing – I shouldn’t say ‘screw’: ‘get

involved’ or ‘alter the effects of the

natural supply-demand schedule’ –

in any way, shape or form, including

interest rate changes, it sort of caters to

a shortage of supply.”

Given that 100,000 people come

to Toronto every year, no one has yet

figured out how to curb demand, so the

prices just keep skyrocketing. What’s

not helping the affordability situation

is the fact that municipalities are

getting more demanding, to the point

where development charges are going

through the roof, while provincial

mandates and municipal-level

pressures regarding energy efficiency

and the move towards net zero just

keep increasing – both major factors

in rising construction costs that are

passed on to home buyers.

Finnigan says that at the federal

level, over the next half-year, the

CHBA plans to concentrate on interest

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Finnigan says that at

the federal level, over

the next half-year, the

CHBA plans to concen-

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rates and mortgage rules. Given that

housing markets vary so widely across

the country, they’d like to explore

the possibility of regionalizing the

mortgage rules. “Don’t lump every

city in the same boat,” he advises.

Another area Finnigan has been

pushing the feds on is in recognizing

work that goes into existing homes

to make them more energy efficient.

Given the rising cost of utilities,

the CHBA has been lobbying the

federal government to introduce a

renovation tax credit based on energy

savings – especially in light of the fact,

according to the association, every

dollar in energy retrofits yields four

to seven times more energy savings

than each dollar spent upgrading a

new home. “We’re hoping that’s going

to be in the budget in the spring, and

we’ve made some strong cases for

that,” he explains.

The CHBA is, of course, backing

the net zero initiative (in which

several governments have set a

goal of 2031 to be carbon-free) with

its own Net Zero Energy Council,

but Finnigan is a big believer that

government should not mandate

the issue, and instead should “let us

do our jobs” by having the building

industry bring along the technologies

through proper trials and testing.

“We don’t need a guy like [Ontario

Minister of the Environment and

Climate Change] Glen Murray who

would like to have net zero in four or

five years,” he argues. “Let us do the

time-tested studies that we need to

do to make sure what we put into the

houses is right and works.” To wit, he

references when ENERGY STAR was

first introduced and cost $7,500 to

achieve. A year and a half later, it was

down to $3,500, and then just $2,000,

as builders developed efficiencies for

adopting this standard, Finnigan says.

He maintains that a good place

to start is by building homes that are

net zero ready, which is a whole lot

easier than getting to net zero because

“you’re not doing the batteries, you’re

not doing the solar panels.”

Finnigan’s message to the govern-

ment? “We’ll get there. We understand

the rules. We’re already performing

way better than any other country, so

don’t push, because every time we get

mandated to do something, there’s

mistakes made or people adopt stuff

that – three, four years down the road –

is bad. It doesn’t work.”

Another challenge facing the

industry is the changing house form

as we move away from single-family

homes into a world of semis, stacks and

towns. Finnigan points to two factors

driving this: provincially mandated

density regulations and affordability.

He says this is specifically an issue

in Toronto, but in other parts of the

country too, “the single family home

is becoming a thing of the past.” And

even in places where land density is not

a factor, the fact that housing prices are

rising so much faster than wages “just

reduces the amount of choice people

have to buy.” This is particularly a

concern for families in the Golden

Horseshoe and in Vancouver, as the

government is essentially mandating

smaller homes through densities, zoning

and energy efficiency, Finnigan says.

“We have made a tremendous

switch from ground-oriented housing

to high-rise, but what’s being offered

in those higher-density options is

too small for families,” he explains.

“So my concern as a builder, and as a

citizen, is that government policy has

really affected consumer choice and

affordability, far beyond I’m sure what

they intended in the beginning, but

they won’t put up their hand and say

‘that was us.’”

Of course, Finnigan has enough

on his plate without trying to force

a mea culpa from the government,

but if he can somehow manage to get

them to listen to reason about net zero

mandates, we may finally see some

progress in the affordability crisis. BB

Rob Blackstien is

a Toronto-based

freelance writer.

Pen-Ultimate.ca

Another challenge facing the industry is the

changing house form as we move away from

single-family homes into a world of semis,

stacks and towns. Finnigan points to two

factors driving this: provincially mandated

density regulations and affordability.



fromthegroundup / DOUG TARRY

Over the years, it has been

my great privilege to work

with a number of building

inspectors and chief building officials

(“CBOs”), locally and provincially, on

a number of Building Code matters.

In that time, I have worked on

building partnerships (pun intended)

between the members of our two

associations: the Ontario Home

Builders’ Association and the Ontario

Building Officials Association. I am

honoured that many inspectors and

CBOs seek my advice and opinion

to work through Code-related

challenges. I believe that when we

share knowledge and expertise

between us, it helps us all to produce

the best possible quality of homes for

our customers.

The Ontario Building Code is not a

simple document, and it is fairly easy

to end up with a misinterpretation

of what a sentence or clause actually

means (for example, the radon

logic trap I mentioned in issue 19).

Recently, I became aware of some

area building officials questioning the

use of ROXUL as a thermal barrier for

the protection of foamed plastics.

Let me be clear: if you are using

rigid insulation or other types of

foamed plastics, you must protect

them with a thermal barrier. There

are a number of options for this, but

in an unfinished basement – be it

the mechanical room, in an exposed

header, or a walk-out wall – we are

looking for cost-effective ways to

meet the insulation requirements

and the requirements for the

protection of foamed plastics. This

requirement is extremely important

and building inspectors are, and need

to be, very diligent in making sure

required thermal barriers are installed

correctly. I commend their efforts

toward making sure our home owners

are safe in their homes. The reason

is that, with a home fire, the foamed

plastic insulation produces a deadly

toxic gas when it smoulders. It can kill

very quickly, before a fire is even fully

engaged.

There were three main concerns

raised by building officials:

1) They were concerned that ROXUL

batts could be used in a header as

a thermal barrier, but could not

be used in a stud wall unless there

was ROXUL COMFORTBOARD

installed behind the stud. This

misinterpretation may have been

due to a ROXUL detail that shows

the product installed in the header,

but not in the stud wall.


cannot be used as a thermal

barrier as the foam insulation has

a flame-spread rating higher than

25, with the logic that when flame

spreads are between 25 and 500, the

material must pass CAN/ULC-S101,

which ROXUL has not been tested

to meet.


COMFORTBOARD might not have a

tested or approved R-value.

Ironically, I have been working

with ROXUL and Dow on some

of these details for several years,

Using Foam Insulation?You Need to Protect It!


ultimately leading to our work on

the Optimum Basement Wall. So I

was somewhat concerned when I

was brought into this discussion.

If these points were correct, and

ROXUL was not an acceptable

thermal barrier, the implications for

our industry would be significant

as we move towards the greater

basement insulation requirements

of the new SB-12. Fortunately for our

industry, this situation turned out

to be a misunderstanding of testing

requirements and was resolved with

a more thorough review of the OBC

requirements for the protection of

foamed plastics.

Let’s take a look at the concerns

so that we all have a better

understanding of this important Code

requirement:

There are two separate tests that

have been conducted on the use of

ROXUL as a thermal barrier: one

by Dow in 2006 for protecting their

FROTH-PAK product and one by

ROXUL in 2014 for protecting foam

insulation. Here is the actual notice

provided by ROXUL from the report

COMFORTBATT CBIS Thermal

Barriers:

Addressing industry needs for thermal

barrier solutions for the protection of

foamed plastics, ROXUL COMFORT-

BATT® at 5 ½" and COMFORTBOARD™

IS at 2" & 3" have been tested and

approved in accordance with CAN/ULC

S124-06. These products meet the

requirements of a thermal barrier as

specified in clauses 9.10.17.10(1)(c) and

3.1.5.12.(2)(e) of the 2010 National

Building Code of Canada. These

requirements outline the need to

protect foamed plastic insulation with

“any thermal barrier that meets the

requirements of classification B when

tested in conformance with CAN/ULC-

124-, ‘Test for the Evaluation of Protec-

tive Coverings for Foamed Plastic’.”

The header detail that was

referenced was created to show

industry stakeholders the method for

installation of ROXUL into the header

and what kept it there (friction fit). This

detail was never intended to limit the

use to headers. I reached out to Rick

Roos from ROXUL and asked him for

information regarding the testing that

was done for meeting the requirement

of 3.1.5.12.(2)(e). As it turns out, the test

was conducted by simulating a wall

system that is the same wall system as

for our net zero homes. There is no

limitation on the location of its use in a

wall or a header.

The second point correctly

identifies that the flame-spread

rating of foam is greater than 25, but

incorrectly suggests that the testing

requirement for the standard CAN/

ULC-S101 noted in 3.1.5.12.(3)(d)

applies. That specific clause is actually

referencing two exemptions: one for

buildings that are not sprinklered and

are more than 18 metres high, and

another for non-sprinklered buildings

that are regulated by subsection

3.2.6. Neither of these conditions

apply in this situation. 3.1.5.12.(3),

when identifying insulation with a

flame-spread rating between 25 and

500, redirects you back to the same

requirement found in 3.1.5.12.(2)(e), or

a Class B thermal barrier, just like the

reports indicate.

Here is where it gets really simple

for residential builders on this topic.

When a permit is applied for under

Part 9 of the OBC, the applicable Code

requirement is 9.10.17.10.(1)(c) (Protec-

31


tion of Foam Plastics), and there is no

mention of a flame-spread rating. It

merely points you back specifically to

clause 3.1.5.12.(2)(e), not sentence

3.1.5.12.(2) – so the flame-spread

rating is not a limitation for a Part 9

permit. Therefore, the use of ROXUL is

compliant by either Code path.

The last concern questioned if

there was a tested and approved

R-value for ROXUL COMFORTBOARD

specifically.

ROXUL COMFORTBOARD is a

product that we worked directly with

ROXUL to develop, right down to the

fastener details – and we are very

proud to have been associated with its

development. So I can assure readers

that ROXUL COMFORTBOARD has a

well-published R-value of R4 per inch

as established by the ASTM testing

standards C177 and C518.

As builders, building inspectors and

home designers, it is important that

we account for and include a thermal

barrier when using foamed plastics.

The OBC does not provide details

on how to do it; it just indicates that

we have to. I hope this has helped to

address any remaining concerns about

using ROXUL, or any other mineral

wool that has a Class B rating, in a

thermal barrier assembly. If we work

together on solutions, we will continue

to lead the country in building the best

homes possible. BB

Doug Tarry Jr is director of marketing at

Doug Tarry Homes in St. Thomas, Ontario.

Dow’s full house of insulation, air sealants and adhesives work together to create an airtight, moisture resistant structure from roof to foundation, helping builders and contractors meet or exceed building codes, reduce callbacks and create a comfortable, durable, energy efficient structure for their customers.

Dow BuilDing SolutionS1-866-583-BluE (2583)

www.insulateyourhome.ca

®™The DOW Diamond Logo is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company © 2014

Whole-House SolutionstHAt HElP BuilDERS AnD ContRACtoRS outPERFoRM

As builders, building inspectors and home designers,

it is important that we account for and include a

thermal barrier when using foamed plastics.

The OBC does not provide details on how to do it;

it just indicates that we have to.

Your reputation is built, or crumbles, long after the keys have been handed over. That’s why projects like The Edelweiss Home – Canada’s first LEED® v4 home, and second in the world to achieve Platinum status – rely on the continuous insulation of ROXUL® COMFORTBOARD™ exterior sheathing. Its vapour permeability enables your wall assembly to dry to the outside, providing your clients with durability and comfort. See why ROXUL is a better fit for your next project at roxul.com/comfortboard

A BETTER WAY TO BUILD YOUR HOMES –AND YOUR REPUTATION.

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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8.5"x 10.875".125” all around.575” all around

RESIZE

DOCKET #:

PROOF #: ARTIST: DATE:CLIENT:

FILE NAME:

AD NUMBER:RESOLUTION:COLOURS:

12745

CMYK

ROXUL

300 DPIROX-P-028-2016-E

01 JC April 8, 2016 11:03 AM12745-ROX-P-028-2016-E

CAVITYROCK® and COMFORTBOARDTM. For a better way to build.

COMFORTBOARD™. For the better way to build. LEED® is a registered trademark of United States Green Building Council.

Together, we make betterenergy performance possible.Building energy efficient buildings doesn’t need to be costly and complicated. Savings by Design can help, whether you’re a residential or commercial builder. This comprehensive program gives you free access to industry experts and performance incentives for constructing energy efficient, sustainable buildings beyond code requirements.

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Technology

Better Builder Magazine, Issue 21 / Spring 2017