Contractor Advantage May / June 2015

®

MAY/JUNE 2015

CONTRACTORADVANTAGEC A N A D A ’ S M A G A Z I N E F O R P R O F E S S I O N A L C O N T R A C T O R S

COMPLIMENTARY

PLUS:EXTERIOR

PAINTS & STAINSROOFTOP

INNOVATIONS

ALSO:Cottage Trends + Business Builds +

Smart Locks +

WINDOWS& THE COMFORT FACTOR

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Contractor Advantage

Castle Building Centres Group Ltd.,with building supply outlets in every province, is Canada’s leading supplier of lumber and building materials to professional contractors, builders

and renovators.

Publications Mail Agreement #40006677 Return undeliverable Canadian

Addresses to: 100 Milverton Drive, Suite 400

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Advertising EnquiriesVendors whose products are carried in Castle Building

Centres stores have the opportunity to advertise in

For more information or to reserve space in the next issue, contact:

Jennifer Mercieca Director of Communications

Phone: 905-564-3307 Fax: 905-564-5875

E-mail: [email protected]

Published and designed exclusively for Castle Building Centres Group Ltd. by AnnexNewcom LP

Material Contact: Cheryl Fisher 416-510-5194

Copyright 2012

CONTENTSCA

CONTRACTOR ADVANTAGE MAY/JUNE 2015 | 3

Editorial Director Castle Building Centres Group Ltd.

Jennifer Mercieca

Managing EditorPaul Barker

Art Director Mark Ryan

ContributorsNestor E. Arellano

Paul Cherry Lawrence Cummer Stefan Dubowski

Walt Grassl David Chilton Saggers

Lauren Schreiber John G. Smith

24

46 54

May/June 2015 Vol. 20 No. 3

Features

Inside

Business Builders / 18You have mastered your trade, but do you know how to build the business itself?

Windows & The Comfort Factor / 24 Homeowners want windows that reduce energy costs, look great, but also keep them comfortable.

Smart Lock Wisdom / 34When it comes to the exterior door, it is definitely riding the crest of the mobile wave.

Cottage Builds / 41A big part of contracting jobs involves navigating the many restrictive bylaws which vary from township to township and lake to lake.

A Brush With Genius / 46New architectural coatings make your exterior painting and staining projects easier to complete.

Rooftop Innovation / 54Today’s contractors are varying their roofs as best they can to stand out from the competition.

NEWS WATCH / 5 Coverage of Castle AGM 2015

PRODUCT SHOWCASE / 7 New and improved products

BUSINESS STRATEGIES / 10 The salesperson’s handbook

SMART MONEY / 13 Achieving business health

ECONOMICS 101 / 15 You own your own dreams

LEARNING CURVE / 17 Building vanities and friendships

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CANEWS WATCH


BY PAUL BARKER

Social media and shift in oil prices key topics discussed at Castle AGM

There was plenty of time to unwind at the Castle Annual General Meet-ing (see pages 32 and 33) held re-

cently in San Antonio, Tex., but delegates also had an opportunity to gain insight into topics as diverse as Twitter usage among baby boomers and the impact of the recent oil price collapse on Canadian contractors.

This year’s business session began with a presentation from social media expert Amber MacArthur who spoke of the relentless adaptation and the accel-erating pace of corporate culture in the digital economy.

An example of that, she said, can be seen by the fact the fastest growing demo-graphic group on Twitter is currently 55-64 year olds, up by 70% since 2012, YouTube reaches more adults ages 18-34 than any cable network and 38% of Canadians turn to social media to recommend businesses to friends, family and colleagues.

In the new digital world, said MacAr-thur, organizations regardless of size need to adapt quickly, be responsive and cre-ate value.

She talked about the “Eight Steps To Success”: Protect your digital reputation, Put the right people in charge, Leverage viral trends, Beware of the social media storm, Embrace visual social media, Set expectations, Share authentic moments, and Use a few good apps.

Attendees also received a no-nonsense message from world-class manufactur-er and award-winning retailer Donald Cooper, founder of the protective sports equipment manufacturer that became a Canadian-brand icon, who delivered the “straight goods” on how to sell more, man-age smarter and grow your bottom line.

“There are actually two kinds of fu-ture,” he said. “The future that will happen as a result of population and demograph-ics, changing tastes and priorities, inven-tion and discovery, political and economic changes and war and terrorism. The other is a future that we commit to proactively create.”

Many businesses, said Cooper, “make the mistake of defining themselves by the products and services they have always sold and how and where they have always done business. It is all about them and it is all about yesterday.”

“Failure to execute is one of the biggest problems in business today.”

Businesses, he added, do not fold be-cause of one particularly incident, but “slowly but surely, from 1,000 uncom-pleted tasks.”

As always, the highly anticipated eco-nomic forecast from economist Dr. Peter Andersen who took the stage following Cooper left the crowd feeling confident about the year ahead despite the impact of declining oil prices, which he said will result in negative effects appearing right away and positive effects coming more slowly.

Andersen added that as a big net im-porter of oil, the price drop is a major posi-tive in the U.S. and the country’s economy will soon be going “flat out” and last for several more years.

The good news for Canada’s economy, he said, is that it eventually rebalances and follows the U.S. with Ontario, British Co-lumbia and Quebec being the new growth leaders. Andersen also predicted that “con-fidence will stabilize” next year in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland.

This year’s keynote speaker, mean-

while, was Vince Poscente, CEO of The Goal Acceleration Institute, who start-ing at the age of 26 made the miraculous transformation from a weekend skier to an Olympian in only four years.

The New York Times best selling au-thor of The Age of Speed, once wrote that “we will not thrive by ‘coping’ our way to big goals. Seeking to ‘manage’ our way to bottom-line results is not the way. We will individually and organizationally thrive by accelerating towards extraor-dinary outcomes with one overarching philosophy – Do what the competition is not willing to do.”

AGM speakers this year in San Antonio were (from top left to right) Dr. Peter Andersen, Amber MacArthur, Vince Poscente and Donald Cooper.

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PRODUCT SHOWCASECA


Innovative Products for Today’s RenovatorsBuilding Blocks

+TASK LAUNCHES NEW BAR CLAMPS, LED WORK LIGHTS, SANDPAPERTask Tools has introduced new bar clamps and spreader, portable LED work lights and sandpaper lines the company says are contractor-grade, but consumer priced.

The new Task F300 Heavy Duty Bar Clamp and Spreader is capable of exerting up to 300 lbs. of force. They are easy to use with one hand as they have a unique spring mechanism that provides smooth superior performance. A quick-release lever makes it easy to change over from clamping to spreading. Other features include large, non-marking, V-Groove jaws that provide a firm grip and non-slip handles for comfort. Clamps are available in four different sizes, ranging from 6” to 36”.

Task Portable LED Work Lights are bright and use less power than traditional halogen work lights. With 50,000 hours of bulb life, they last longer and are five times more energy efficient than traditional lights. The work lights are also weather proof and rugged enough for outdoor use. They stay cool to the touch and weigh 4 lbs. for easy movement. A 120° tilt adjustment and a brightness of 1670 lumens help illuminate hard to reach surfaces.

The new Task Signature Heavy Duty Sandpaper line has an anti-static coating that prevents clogging even in high-speed machine applications and the extra thick F-weight

backing makes this paper highly tear resistant and durable in the toughest applications.

It has a significantly higher rate of stock removal and less clogging for a longer life. Made of high-grade aluminum oxide that can be used wet or dry, the sandpaper can also be used on a broad range of applications such as painted surfaces, wood and metal.Visit www.task-tools.com for more information.

+The new REACT Touch-Free Kitchen Faucet from Pfister has been designed to be cleaner, healthier and more convenient.

Activated when a hand or object passes within its sensor range, the water temperature of the faucet can be set and reset according to home-owner preferences or by using a handle. Being hands free keeps the faucet from getting dirty; however, the sensor can be easily put into “hi-bernate” mode in order to be scrubbed to keep it clean.

The REACT faucet features a pull-down spout

with an extra-long hose for washing larger items in harder-to-reach areas of the sink. Pfister says the faucet has been engineered so that it can be easily installed by almost anyone.

Other features include: an AccuDock ad-vanced spay head docking system to ensure a tight connection to the faucet spout; EZ Clean nozzles for the removal of mineral buildup with a quick wipe; and, one-to-four-hold configuration for versatility.Visit www.pfisterfaucets.com for more information.

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PRODUCT SHOWCASECA


+CERTAINTEED MEMBRAIN CONTAINS ‘REVOLUTIONARY’ MOISTURE FIGHTERCertainTeed Insulation Group Canada recently introduced the MemBrain smart vapour and air barrier film, which the company calls a revolutionary way to get moisture out of walls.

CertainTeed MemBrain looks similar to typical polyethylene sheeting, but is actually a polyamide-based material with a unique ability to adapt its permeability depending on climatic conditions. Using MemBrain reduces risk and liability due to moisture problems, the company says. Although a high-quality, premium product it only adds about $300 to $500 to the total cost of an average 2,400 sf home.

With a high resistance to water vapour in winter or low humidity, MemBrain behaves as a moisture vapour barrier like poly sheeting. When the relative humidity in the cavity increases, MemBrain’s water vapour permeability increases dramatically, allowing water vapour to escape the wall cavity easily when the humidity is high. This greatly increases the drying potential of closed building envelope systems, the company says.

In addition to performing as an interior vapour barrier, Mem-Brain may be installed as a continuous interior air barrier system over unfaced fibre glass or other insulation requiring a separate vapour or air barrier.Visit www.certainteed.com/insulation for more information.

PLYGEM EXTERIOR ALUMINUM ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE IN 50+ COLOURSAluminum exterior products available in Canada from Ply Gem now include a full lineup of coil, soffit, fascia, rainware and other accessories in more than 50 colours to complement its Mitten by Ply Gem siding.

The aluminum line is one of 27 product categories in The Designed Exteriors by Ply Gem, an exterior solu-tion that includes windows, doors, siding, stone veneer, trim, accents. A colour-match program ensures the aluminum accessories seamlessly match any siding choice, the company says.

Each product is tested for flexibility, adhesion and solvent resistance, as well as possible performance inhibitors such as extreme humidity, direct light expo-sure and contact with salt spray. Ply Gem aluminum accessories are backed by a 50-year prorated warranty.Visit www.plygem.ca for more information.

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BUSINESS STRATEGIESCA

10 | MAY/JUNE 2015 CONTRACTOR ADVANTAGE

BY PAUL CHERRY

The Salesperson’s Handbook

Lucy was a new salesperson who wanted to make a big impression. She did everything she could think

of to establish relationships with pros-pects and “wow” them with her proposals. While she was not failing as a salesper-son, Lucy was certainly not leading her team in sales either. After nine months of below-average performances, she knew something had to change, but what?

Veteran salespeople know that while every customer is unique, the obstacles to a sale are predictably the same and occur rather frequently. Once you under-stand these obstacles and the strategies to overcome them, you will have all of the tools you need to make the sale.

Obstacle 1: identifying and communicating with the decision maker(s)

Too often, salespeople will focus solely on their initial contact. Whether that person is a mid-level manager or an executive, they are probably not the only person who is going to have input on the proposal process. Smart salespeople know that there are usually other deci-sion makers who will have input in the deal, and the challenge is to figure out who they are and how you can meet with them. In order to get the information you want, you will to have to ask your current contact some questions that might seem awkward. Some questions to broach the issue are:

• What is your time frame for mak-ing a final decision?

• What criteria will you be evaluat-ing to ensure you are making the best decision?

• What measurable outcomes are you looking to achieve?

Once you are able to determine who else will be involved in the decision-mak-ing process, you can ask this follow up question: “I really appreciate this insight.

So that I can propose the best solution that is going to meet the needs of every-one else involved, I would love to talk with these other individuals and get their input. When can I meet with them?”

Obstacle 2: uncovering the budgetNothing will derail a deal faster than a mismatch between your proposal and the customer’s budget. Unfortunately, prospects are often reluctant to discuss their budgets with salespeople. It is your

Paul Cherry is president of Performance Based Results and is an authority on customer engage-ment strategies with more than 23 years of experience in sales training, leadership develop-ment, sales performance coaching and manage-ment coaching. He is the author of Questions that

Sell: The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants and Questions that Get Results: Innovative Ideas Managers Can Use to Improve Their Team’s Performance. Visit www.pbresults.com or email [email protected] for more information.

The five most common sales obstacles and tools you can use to overcome them.

SUCCESS

Commitment

CredibilityValues

BudgetIndentifyCommunitcate

http://www.pbresults.com

http://www.pbresults.com

mailto:[email protected]

CABUSINESS STRATEGIES


job to press them further to get a number, or at the very least, a range of what their budget is for the project. There are two options to making this happen.

You can politely (but firmly) sug-gest that your prospect determine their budget prior to soliciting bids. Stress the importance of an advance figure, and express your interest in receiving them before you reconnect.

This approach puts the focus on the prospect, not you. It tells them that you care about them and their financial secu-rity and you do not want them to make a mistake.

The second option involves framing the interaction through the lens of rec-ommending a program that best suits your prospect’s needs and expectations, and expressing how budget parameters can shape the direction for both parties.

If they say they cannot give you a number because they are not the ones putting the budget together, ask to be introduced to those who are involved in crafting the budget. This will minimize price objections later on in the process, especially when you are put in front of people who are not as concerned with budget, as they are with their ROI.

Obstacle 3: working with custom-ers who do not want to commitThere is nothing more frustrating than getting ready to close a sale, only to have a customer say, “I still need to think about it.” When this happens, a seasoned sales-person knows that he or she needs to fol-low up on the c u s to m e r ’s s t a t e m e n t . You should re-spond by saying:

“I can understand you need to think about this. After all, it

is an important deci-sion and you need to do what is best for you. Tell me, what specifi-cally stands out from our conversation that is of inter-est to you?”

The goal of this question is to get clarification on how much the prospect is really interested in what you have shared and whether or not the prospect feels they want to move forward. Is there sincerity in the response, or are you being blown off?

Once you get an answer to your first question, you can acknowledge that the customer has concerns, and ask them what they are. Ask what is holding them back from making a decision, and then hopefully you can help alleviate their concerns and get the sale back on track.

Obstacle 4: understanding the customer’s valuesToo often, salespeople get stuck on the issue of price. If you sell on price, you lose on price. As soon as someone cheaper comes along, a customer will not give you a second thought before cutting you

loose. Instead of getting caught up in price wars, you need

to steer a customer’s attention to other

issues. This means you need to ask your customers about value. W h at c h a r -acteristics do they value in a vendor? Are

they most con-cerned with good

customer service, high quality prod-

ucts, speedy delivery,

or ease of use? Once you get a customer

talking about these areas, you can determine what their needs are and how you can position your-self to get those

needs met.

Obstacle 5: establishing your

credibility

Many salespeople make the mistake of spending an initial meeting talking all about themselves and their products. This is a mistake. During an initial call, your goal should be for the prospect to do 70% of the talking. Why? For two reasons:

• You want to hear about his/her prob-lems, goals, concerns and ideas.

• You want to qualify if there is a genuine opportunity with this prospect.

You cannot do either of those things if you are trying to sell during the first meet-ing. As much as you want to sell yourself, you should never bring out PowerPoint, samples or company literature during an initial meeting.

What should you do at an initial meet-ing? You should start the meeting with a unique value opening statement, which is a 30-60 second description of who you are as a company and what you do.

The value opening statement should detail the benefits of your company to the prospect, the impact that hiring you will have and then an immediate follow-up question to gauge their expectations and interest.

Remember Lucy? She started to utilize these tips and strategies with her custom-ers. She found that she was able to ask great questions of her customers and this in turn led to increased sales and increased overall performance in her office.

“During an initial call, your goal should be for the prospect to do 70% of the talking.”

“Nothing

will derail a deal

faster than a mis-

match between your

proposal and the

customer’s budget.”

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Health can be defined as the overall well-being of a human body and mind. It is a dynamic condition that results from the body’s constant adjustment and adaptation

in response to stresses and changes in the environment to maintain an inner equilibrium.

The same concept of health can be applied to the overall state of your construction company, mean-ing that a healthy business is one that is constantly adjusting and adapting to the environment in which it operates. Your company’s ability to change is im-pacted by its resources, which not only includes cash on hand, but current information on the company’s performance. Without proper systems in place, it may be hard to understand the resilience of your business when the time comes to re-spond to changes in its environment.

One significant factor that con-tributes to keeping a construction business oper-ating in tip-top shape is having effective internal controls. Such controls help create peace-of-mind by ensuring data used to generate reports is accu-rate, resources such as assets and cash reflected on the books are actually available for use, and information can be easily accessed.

Below, we will illustrate the importance of having checks and balances in place, explain what an effective control looks like, and help to identify measures to establish or improve controls to guarantee your business is operating in a healthy manner.

Data integrity is crucial in a business of any size to enable a user to rely on the inputs used to generate performance metrics such as interim statements or aged listings. Having controls in place ensures there are an appropriate number of eyes overseeing business processes to prevent errors from being made. An internal control that confirms information is correctly entered into the system will place another level of review or validation into the process. Easy steps to take may

include the implementation of account reconciliations and having the appropriate person review work performed and data entered into the system.

In addition, as a business owner, you must have confidence that your resources are not vulnerable to fraud or misappropria-

tion. In a healthy internal-control environment this is referred to as “safeguarding of assets” and can be implemented using a variety of measures. Success-ful controls will ensure only the appropriate staff is granted access to vulnerable assets and that no one individual is accountable for handling funds.

For example, restricting access to funds by locking away blank cheques and petty cash, as well as segregating the duties related to handling receipt and payment of funds between different individuals, will drastically reduce risk. Other easy steps include implementing

access controls, such as passwords, limiting access to secure information and data to appropriate personnel, or maintaining physical security over inventory that can easily be stolen.

Just because something has not gone wrong yet does not preclude the occurrence of future incidents. Efforts made to produce accurate data

and secure assets will not yield the desired effect unless they are clearly communicated, monitored and updated as neces-sary. Employees must understand the importance of internal controls in the workplace and that they are being enforced. Knowing that someone is keeping a watchful eye places ad-ditional pressure on staff to take care in their work and their broader role within the organization.

With owners and managers, understanding the benefits that internal controls can provide (accurate data and the ability to produce meaningful reports, control over assets and attentive employees) you can take the necessary steps to safeguard the health of your business.

BY LAUREN SCHREIBER

Achieving Business HealthMaking your business a healthy one requires an internal control perspective.

SMART MONEYCA

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Lauren Schreiber is a manager in Crowe Sober-man’s Audit & Advisory Group where she pro-vides insightful advice to business owners and entrepreneurs on issues relating to accounting, finance and operations to help them succeed in

an competitive marketplace. She has experience with businesses in various industries, including construction and real estate, and her specialties include financial statement preparation, cash-flow analysis and cost and financial analysis.

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CAECONOMICS 101


Paul and Sara were attending a luncheon with colleagues and recent retirees. Sara noted some retirees

seemed happy while others looked a bit lost, like they used to. She could understand the differences at work, but not in retirement.

Paul, a senior manager, mentor and coach, had kept in touch with many of them. He said that those who were hap-py were the ones who owned their lives. They did not seek approval when making choices and took responsibility for their outcomes. He gave Sara five questions used to help people find happiness at work and in life.

Are you competing with others? Most of us know the term “keeping up with the Joneses.” Do you compare the car you drive, the clothes you wear and the smartphone you use with others?

We do this to either show off our success, or because we want what oth-ers have. This keeps us from evaluating ourselves based on what we want and are capable of doing.

This is always a dangerous game with no winners. When you move from a cubicle to an office, your joy quickly fades when you realize Jennifer Jones has a bigger office. When you get your window office, your joy quickly fades when you see Cyrus Washington has a corner office. Someone always has something better than you.

Are you seeking approval from others? Many people believe that unless we have the approval of others, we are worthless.

They often get good grades in school, try to excel at sports or the arts and choose professions for their parents’ approval. When they achieve an important mile-stone, they do not feel good unless some-one acknowledges it. This is dangerous behaviour, since you are relying on others to give you worth. When you take on a task or a challenge, pause and define what a successful outcome looks like. When you are finished, look at the outcome. Was it a success? If yes, congratulate yourself. If no, what could you do differently next time? The opinion of others does not fac-tor in? When you put your time and en-ergy into seeking the approval of others, you end up feeling empty and insecure.

Do you know what you want to achieve? Your goals should be your own. You should not be striving to achieve others’ goals for you. What makes you happy? If money were no object, what would we do? It is important to have an idea of your purpose and mission in life. Taking the time to make this honest assessment will help you know which direction to take your life. Get away from the everyday distractions and be honest with yourself. Your future happiness depends on it.

Do you know how the much time, money and energy you are willing to spend to achieve your objective?

Once you have identified your goal, ask yourself how much time, effort and money it will take to achieve it. Given that you are already busy, where will

you find the time to take that class you need? Where will the money for it come from? Will you have the energy after a full day of work to still attend it? When you think about these before you start, you will find it easier to maintain your integrity during stressful moments and successfully continue on your path to achieving your goal.

Do you know that you, and you alone, own your dreams?When you get to this point, you realize you own your dream. How fast you go after your dream is your choice as well.

You may want to move from the mail room to the entry-level finance position. To do this, you may have to take eight training classes. You love working with numbers and would take the new posi-tion even if the pay were the same, but what if you have an elderly parent that you are helping? You choose to take class-es every other session to balance your desire to care for your parent with the desire to be happier at work. People may say, “Why not take the classes back to back, so you can finish faster?” Others may say, “How can you take classes when your parent needs you?” You cannot please everyone, so why expend your energy trying to please some? Own your dream and the pace at which you go after it.

Sara told Paul she was happy at work because she owns her dreams. She real-ized that many of the people unhappy at work overtly sought the approval of their bosses and coworkers, and could link their unhappiness to not feeling in control of their lives.

Paul concluded: You choose your dream and you choose your pace. You get results based on your choices. Family, friends, peers and bosses may support and advise you, but you and only you own your dreams.

BY WALT GRASSL

You Own Your Own DreamsHow well you achieve your dreams and happiness is based on the choices you make.

Walt Grassl is a speaker, author, and performer. Walt has performed standup comedy at the Hollywood Improv and the Flamingo in Las Vegas and is studying improv at the Groundlings School in Hollywood. Visit www.WaltGrassl.com for more information.

http://www.WaltGrassl.com

LOOKS GOOD.WORKS HARDER.

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CALEARNING CURVE

When it comes to securing a sale, too many people are focused on the end result and the outcome, according to Stan Holden, author of the new book Giving Candy to Strangers: Creating Abundance in Your Business through the Power of Relationships from Next Century Publishing.

In his book, Holden, who has had a flourishing sales career, suggests approaching sales from a “heart-centered” standpoint that creates relationships and wins new friends.

The bottom line is important, but if you detach from this burden while you are creating relationships, Holden suggests

you will find that the bottom line improves on its own.Initially a designer by trade, Holden suggests businesses

diverge from the norm, stepping outside systems, rules, limitation and barriers.

In Giving Candy to Strangers he provides a “menu of creative ideas” for business owners to sample, adapt and combine.

Not a “how-to” guide, but a “how-to-be” guide for business, Giving Candy to Strangers presents how otherwise random-seeming connections can be leveraged to both have fun and build business success.

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CABINETS, VANITIES, AND COUNTERTOPSTaunton Press

Nothing transforms the look and function of a kitchen or bathroom like new cabinets or countertops. Elements in both add significantly to the value of a home, but mis-takes can be costly. Whether you are building them or installing them, your job is much easier when you

are armed with information. Cabinets, Vanities, and Coun-tertops, part of Taunton Press’s For Pros by Pros series from the Editors of Fine Homebuilding is designed to provide such information directly from other professional contractors

and builders. Cabinets, Vanities and Countertops contains builder-tested techniques and methods that allow you to build and install high-quality, durable and cost-efficient cabinets, vanities and countertops for kitchens and baths or other rooms in the house. From simple to elaborate, from budget to high-end, it covers a range of cabinet, vanity and countertop projects and gives you the technical help you need to get the job done right the first time.

The book features code-approved detailed projects fully illustrated with 350 colour photographs and 50 illustrations. Cabinets, Vanities and Countertops (For Pros by Pros) is avail-able June 30, on amazon.ca and chapters.indigo.ca.

Building vanities and friendshipsWhether improving clients’ kitchens and baths or other parts of their homes, two guidebooks can help you build and grow successful client relationships

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CAFEATURE

You have mastered your trade, but do you know how to build the business itself?BY JOHN G. SMITH

BuildersBusiness


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It is possible to have too much of a good thing. Ask anyone who has bid on multiple proj-ects only to win every contract and face the sinking realiza-tion that there are not enough hours in the day. Weekdays be-

gin to blur into weekends. Your family? They are asleep whenever you get home. (At least, you think they still live there.) Despite the extra business, money seems to become tighter. Cash flow becomes more difficult to manage as you try to col-lect receivables before ordering materials for the next job.

They lead to the inevitable questions about whether it is time to grow.

“Do you want to continue on that path?” asks Paul Gibel, a partner in Grant Thornton LLP’s construction and real estate sector group. “Which are the jobs that are going to be the most profitable, and which ones do you want?” The lat-ter question may be the most important of all. Before planning for growth, any contractor needs to consider what their ultimate goals will be.

“Business success means different things to different people,” explains Blake Butler, vice president – real estate and construction services for RBC. “For some it is keeping their business vibrant, healthy and profitable at its current size, and for others it is expanding their busi-ness into a larger venture.”

Not every piece of new business will be a perfect fit. The secret is to carve a niche and build a positive reputation, Butler says. The same is true for small and large contractors alike. Bigger businesses, for example, need to decide on whether to embrace innovative construction techniques to differentiate themselves. A smaller craftsman might want to focus on specific jobs with higher profit margins.

“You always start by trying to figure out what the market is and who your competition is, and once you get into that, I think it is then trying to figure out what you want to compete on,” says Gibel. Do you want to compete on price, or focus on quality and completing fewer projects? Specializing sounds like a clear answer at

first, but there are dangers to that, too. Those who focus entirely on building something like automotive dealerships, for example, will have their fortunes tied entirely to the automotive industry.

The growth planA formal growth plan will help contrac-tors of every size to control the growth, identifying potential risk factors before they take hold, Butler says. “With a growth plan in place you can begin to think about what it will cost to implement. As your business grows, your expenses are likely to go up; increased payroll, more equip-ment and supplies, larger premises. Make sure you outline the additional costs you anticipate and your potential sources of funding for these expenses.

“Growth, and being able to grow, comes down to great planning. The cre-ation of a business plan is essential to the survival of any business,” he adds. “It will help you to identify your customers, your market, the competitive landscape, and other important aspects of your business. It will also help you identify potential opportunities and obstacles that might not have occurred to you. As your busi-ness develops and grows, it will serve as the yardstick against which you can measure your business performance, so you can make sure you are staying on the right track.”

It will also involve identifying those who can help meet the goals.

“There seems to be a trend for some of these guys to band together,” Gibel says, referring to the way individual contrac-tors can reach out to those with related specialties. Someone who builds kitchen cabinets, for example, might want to form an alliance with a plumber, an electrician and a carpenter. “It lets them do some bigger projects that maybe they would not be able to get into… It can be across the trades as well as a straight vertical supply chain,” he says. “They might even, as a group, work for a general contractor, and the general contractor knows this group has each other’s back.”

The more connections, the bet-ter. Someone who ties themselves too

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closely to a single general contractor will be trapped in the accompanying busi-ness cycles. If they tie themselves to a handful of general contractors, there are more opportunities for growth as well as a hedge against someone’s personal business struggles. “Then you are grow-ing together,” Gibel says. “You do want to have a bit of diversification.”

The partnerships do not need to be limited to contractors alone. There may be opportunities to tie closely to architects or engineering companies that require contractors to transform project plans into realities.

Then there are the questions of who to hire and when. Gibel suggests it is al-ways best to secure the work before hir-ing qualified candidates, no matter how promising someone seems to be. “You do not want to make that hard business decision of laying them off.” The most important qualifications will also evolve with the growing business. A contractor who plans to spend most of their own days on a job site may be happy to find someone who can quickly screw drywall panels into place. Someone who wants to grow the business will also need to watch for candidates who could manage crews on their own.

Business tasks may require added sup-port of their own, perhaps with a book-keeper or salesperson.

“It does not have to be the addition of a full-time employee,” Gibel stresses. Third-part services can help to address temporary spikes in business for a while.

“If you expect the increase to be per-manent, you need to move quickly to develop a strategy that will allow your processes and resources to meet the higher demands,” Butler says.

Some of the most powerful support of all may come in the form of something as straightforward as advice.

“Do not be shy about asking for advice from people who are already working as a contractor or previously in that business,” Butler explains. “You will be surprised how many of them are willing to share industry information or serve as sound-ing boards for your ideas. Other people to consider for your professional network in-clude suppliers, customers, accountants, lawyers, and financial advisors.”

Above all, a growing contractor will need to understand their unique selling

proposition, pricing and other factors that set the business apart.

“Whatever it is, you need to under-stand the market, and know what your competition is doing, to ensure that what-ever you are offering is more appealing to your potential customers than anything else out there,” Butler says.

Managing cash flowOnce a path is selected, there will still be the challenges of managing cash flow to finance expanding projects.

“Without a clear picture of your daily sales revenue and expenses, you will not know how much your business is making. That is why keeping an eye on both your startup and ongoing business-as-usual cash flow is crucial to the success of your business,” Butler says. “It is also essen-tial for forecasting, as your predictions and planning for tomorrow are based on what happened today. Over time your forecasting will become more accurate,

so you can plan for fluctuations in your business due to seasonal or economic fac-tors. Plan for unforeseen delays both in the actual construction as well as in the collection of your accounts receivables and holdbacks. Both could happen and create painful cash crunches.”

Equipment leasing options can pre-serve working capital and require lower down payments than traditional business loans. Fixed assets such as real estate can also be leveraged to supply the work-ing capital to address challenges such as payrolls that still need to be met despite weather delays, Butler says.

Even against the backdrop of all the planning, the growth will still need to be managed. Grow too rapidly, and mistakes begin to repeat themselves. Jobs are not monitored as closely as they were, and a reputation for quality work begins to suffer.

It may even make sense to slow things down. “There may be opportuni-

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ties to stretch timelines or temporarily slow other areas of your business to give yourself more time to gather the per-manent resources you will need going forward,” Butler says. The new business must make business sense. “Do not let growth overwhelm your business to such a degree that you are overextended. You may need to investigate alternative sources of cash, such as borrowing, tap-ping into emergency funds, injecting personal capital or speeding up your billing processes.”

The hardest question of all might be deciding when to put away your own tools of the trade in favor of a manage-ment focus.

“Deciding to shift to management versus working on a project themselves really requires hiring a site supervisor, somebody who can be trusted to over-see all of the work is completed accord-ing to the standards you have set for your business,” Butler says. “Shifting to a management role requires that your company has a robust cost control pro-cess to ensure project costs do not go

out of line. Managing your business can have significant benefits: as you move away from the day-to-day management of project sites, you can start to think strategically about your business.”

That path will not be for everyone.

Some people become contractors because they love swinging a hammer rather than focusing on sales reports. “I do not think many people grow huge businesses they do not enjoy working in,” Gibel says. “You cannot really fool yourself.”

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• Bathroom Renovations

• Foundations• Kitchens• Sidings• Going Digital• Accounting Tips

In the next issue of

CAFEATURE

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Homeowners want windows that reduce energy costs, look great, but also keep them comfortable.BY LAWRENCE CUMMER

WINDOWS& THE COMFORT FACTOR

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JUST ANOTHER CASE OF WINDOW ENVY.

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FEATURECA


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Stricter energy requirements are helping drive further de-mand for windows featuring top-notch thermal blocking techniques.

The trend of homeowners looking for environmentally-friendly options that reduce energy costs is not waning, says Laura Fisher, director of marketing for Jeld-Wen of Canada in Winnipeg.

“Every consumer is cognizant of the need to be environmental stewards and be aware of energy, and wants to train themselves to be disciplined in their con-sumption of energy.

“It is almost like the new golden rule: do only good unto others, and also con-serve energy whenever we can.”

Consumers today are weighing the balance between this environmental stewardship and aesthetics. It is a struggle playing out on the battlefield of materials, where wood is seeing resurgence after a dozen or so years losing ground to vinyl.

Environmental misconceptions play a role in this battle too, as homeowners sport green biases toward a more “natu-ral” product (like wood) or against the harvesting of trees (for vinyl). For their part, manufacturers are taking strides to help contractors and homeowner under-stand the environmental impact of their fenestration products across their entire lifecycle. Still, Fisher says the industry has more work to be done around educating consumers: “We have a ways to go.”

It is important to note that many

manufacturers offering wood partici-pate heavily in reforestation. As well, recycled PVC can be used and reused in vinyl windows through a process known as regrinding.

“For manufacturers it is all about proper planning in order to most effi-ciently use material,” says Tracy Nadiger, director of marketing for All Weather Windows in Edmonton. “There will always be waste and so it is important that the manufacturer has good recycle or re-use programs in place.”

For its part, she notes that All Weather Windows closely controls the quality of

its regrinding process, and recycles excess glass back into insulation.

Meanwhile standards such as Energy Star continue to help educate consumers around energy-efficient windows (and other products) and help simplify selec-tion.

In the zonesOn February 1, the climate zones used to designate Energy Star certification for fenestration products in Canada were harmonized from four lettered zones (A to D) down to three numbered zones. These zones are based on the average annual

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temperature indicator, called a heating-degree day (HDD). This is the annual sum of the average daily temperatures for all days below 18°C. Higher HDD values, in-dicate colder locations.

Many windows, doors and skylights are certified for more than one zone. To meet Energy Star requirements, fenes-tration products must be certified for the zone installed or a colder region. For homes built at higher elevation than the surrounding area, Natural Resources Canada recommends installing products rated for a zone at least one level colder.

While the warmest climate zone, south-western B.C. and Vancouver Island., is mostly unchanged, this harmonizing has brought together some regions formerly served by different grade of product.

“The majority of that change has been experienced in Western Canada,” says An-drew Thompson, director of brand mar-keting for Ply Gem. “Before, for example, Calgary was in Zone C and Edmonton was in Zone D, meaning it required a little bit better thermal performance for windows.

“Today, they are the same, meaning Calgary has had to up the performance to what Edmonton was, and that carries through into Saskatchewan as well.”

Although the underlying principles of the program did not change with the harmonizing, it highlights Energy Star’s role at the leading edge of consumer en-ergy efficiency, Fisher says.

“It has high brand recognition, and they work hard to make sure consum-ers are well educated and have ways to choose products that are energy wise,” she says. Contractors, suppliers and manu-facturers also have a role to play in this education.

Vancouver ups requirementsThe City of Vancouver last year adopted its own energy code requirement for windows. The city’s new bylaw requires windows to have a U-value of 1.4 (approxi-mately R4 by insulation standards). Sky-lights will have a requirement of a U-Value of 2.4 by the new city code. This will put window installs in the city in line with much colder regions found in Northern B.C. and require some advanced window manufacturing techniques.

“What it means is it comes down to glass,” Thompson says of the strict re-quirements set out. “You are going to see a proliferation of triple-glazed. You are going to see manufacturers like us offer-

Material ChoicesBeyond glass options, the materials selected for windows can make a huge difference. Wood and aluminum were once the materials of choice, because they have virtually no lineal expan-sion nor contraction, says Tracy Nadiger, director of marketing for All Weather Windows.

Aluminum is very rarely found anymore except in older homes. While it does not move with extremes of cold and heat, it is a conductor. Its thermal properties are very poor.

Wood is attractive but is very high maintenance, Nadiger says. Staining or painting has to be done regularly and you have to worry about the wood rotting if water gets in at all.

Laura Fisher, director of marketing for Jeld-Wen of Canada says modern wood options pro-vide durability that support some consumers’ aesthetic and environmental concerns.

Fibreglass is a good option, says Nadiger, because, it also does not have lineal movement. It is strong, but has weak points at the corners, where it can be subject to water penetration. Fibreglass also has to be painted white, she adds, since its natural colour is not attractive.

PVC can be fusion welded and even the mullions can be welded, so that water penetration is non-existent. It is maintenance free and comes naturally in white or light colours. It can also be painted or covered in aluminum cladding for colour and manufacturers have techniques to add colour to PVC. On the downside, Nadiger notes PVC is not naturally strong so steel rein-forcing is added to mullions and frames. As well it expands and contracts. With PVC frames the more chambers it has the more efficient and higher thermal properties it has.

U-value

versus R-valueWhile both U-value and R-value are used to describe a building product’s insulation

properties, U-value (sometimes called U-factor) is used to express the insulation value of win-dows and R-value describes other parts of the

building envelope. Also R-value is a measure of thermal resis-

tance, while U-value is a measure of heat transfer. As such, R-value is the reciprocal

of U-value. Higher R-values are bet-ter, but the reverse is true of

U-values.

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ing surface #4 (or ‘room-side glass’) low-e coating in addition to traditional high-performance surface #2 low-e coating to achieve this requirement.”

Low-e, or low thermal emissivity, coat-ings reduce the amount of radiant energy that travels through a window, ultimately helping block ultraviolet and infrared light, and heat transfer, while letting vis-ible light through. When interior heat is attempting to escape it is instead reflected back inside the home. Each surface of a window is numbered #1, #2, and so on,

from the outside in. In a double-glazed unit, surface #2 and surface #4 are typi-cally coated with the microscopically thin, transparent low-e coatings.

“It is a double-dose of low-e glass which gets you to where you need to be to meet the requirements of the city of Vancouver (and other regions), and it gives the contractor something to upsell,” Thompson says.

Shading, solar gain and noise reduction

The region a window is being installed in is not the only factor to consider, but also its location in the home and that home’s location in the neighbourhood. A tripane glass window not only offers homeowners greater comfort, but also noise reduction than dual pane options, Nadiger says. Single pane windows are almost unheard of in today’s market.

“If they live on a busy street they will notice a big difference with triple pane win-dows,” she says. “The triple pane option is also healthier, because they can keep the

home at proper humidity levels without causing frost build up on the windows.”

The direction a room faces, any natural shading and the homeowner’s plans should also determine the coating ap-plied, Nadiger says. High solar gain coatings mean that the rays of the sun help to heat the home, reducing overall heating costs. Low solar gain coatings reflect the heat, both radiant and direct.

Weather stripping is an-other important consider-

ation, Nadiger notes. Co-extruded strip-ping is extruded with the PVC and uses inflexible material. This can pose problems, she says.

“When it is cold you typically would not have your windows open, so some might say that weather stripping being inflex-ible does not matter; however, if the wind pushes against the closed window and it moves slightly the inflexible gasket material may not expand back out to a perfect seal.”

Because of this, All Weather Windows uses EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) weather stripping, similar to that used on cars. It is applied to the PVC in a groove and flexes with the weather to maintain a tight seal.

Homeowners in a noisy neighbourhood, or who just enjoy their quiet time, may look for windows with better sound attenua-tion qualities. Here, install is important, but also window design. Dual pane will better reduce noise than single and triple pane more than dual. A triple-glaze will block more sound in addition to its thermal inhibiting qualities, Thompson says.

It is all about creating comfortBy proper planning and installing the best windows for a room, homeowners can vir-tually gain square footage through what Fisher calls “comfort engineering.” She points to the example of a homeowner wanting a large bay of south-facing glass windows, which would typically be an issue due to the possibility of the room overheating. With the right selection of glazing, though, a homeowner could have that dream wall of windows fulfilled with little impact on comfort.

“Contractors who are well educated can really help a customer find the right glass (and glaze) for each setting in their home, and what that does is allow you to gain square footage,” she says. “You actu-ally live closer to the glass, as opposed to shying away to avoid a sunburn.

Energy Star ZonesEnergy Star zones are based on the aver-age annual temperature indicator, called a heating-degree day (HDD). After changes introduced on February 1, 2015, the zones are as follows:

Pre-February 2015 ZonesA <= 3500 HDDs

B > 3500 to <= 5500 HDDs

C > 5500 to <= 8000 HDDs

D > 8000 HDDs

Post-February 2015 Zones1 < 3500 HDDs

2 >= 3500 to < 6000 HDDs

3 >= 6000 HDDs

March 18-21San Antonio,Texas .

2015

Castle Building Centres Group Ltd. would like to thank our Valued Members and Vendor Partners who attended the 2015 Castle Annual General Meeting last month in San Antonio, Texas. Your support and participation make Castle’s AGM the most highly anticipated and well-attended industry event. Once again magnificent memories were made, partnerships strengthened and a fantastic time was had by all.

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CAFEATURE

When it comes to the exterior door, it is definitely riding the crest of the mobile waveBY NESTOR E. ARELLANO

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orgot your keys on the way out? That may soon no longer be a problem, as the trend towards Inter-net-connected homes drives entry security advances.

Locks offering the option to use code numbers in lieu of a physical key have been around since the 1980s; however, the recent breed of so-called smart or connected locks now allows people to secure and open doors with their mobile phones or by Internet connection. Smart locks are among the most popular com-ponents of a connected home, which also includes lighting, entertainment systems, HVAC, sun shading and high-tech security systems that can be remotely monitored and controlled via mobile devices and computers.

The new locks go well with the con-temporary style favoured by Toronto-based firm nkArchitect, which special-izes in custom-built modern homes. Neal Prabhu, architect and interior designer with the company, says he is seeing in-terest in smart locks surge as the idea of the connected home continues to gain widespread acceptance.

Early models were quite complicated and often had to be installed by an elec-trician, but in the last three to four years manufacturers have been rolling out smart locks that can be easily installed by general contractors and even handy homeowners. While traditional mechani-cal locks still account for the largest mar-ket share in the industry, newer systems employing electro-mechanical locks, fobs, smartcards and biometrics are poised for rapid growth.

“We have had many clients ask for these types of locks in the past, but re-cent smart locks (along with home au-tomation, in general) have become a lot more accessible,” Prabhu says. “They have become really very affordable and a lot easier to install and use.”

Low-end smart locks sell for as low as $99 and high-end models that come with mobile device connectivity can be had for around $250.

Smart locks today are riding the crest of the mobile wave and consumers’ readi-ness to adopt Internet-connected technol-ogies that allow them to control almost anything. For example, a 2014 survey of North American homeowners and their attitudes towards smart homes revealed that at least 51% of the respondents were ready to spend $500 and one-third (32%) willing to pay between $500 and $3,000 for a fully-equipped smart home. When thinking of smart homes, as many as 27% of the respondents picture front and ga-rage doors that open automatically when they arrive.

“The market share of smart locks has been growing exponentially,” says Steve Kolobaric, channel marketing manager of

Weiser, Spectrum Brands. “They are among the top-

selling smart home devices and they present excellent up-

sell opportunities for contractors.”In the 1980s, Weiser introduced

one of the first residential electronic keypad systems that required a user-chosen code to unlock the mechanism. Weiser followed this up with its improved SmartCode system in 2000.

The “latest evolution” of the smart lock is the Kevo lock, Kolobaric says. The tech-nology is developed by UniKey Technolo-gies Inc. and licensed to Weiser and other companies. Like other smart locks in the market, it replaces traditional deadbolt systems, but still includes mechanical cylinders that can optionally be opened with a normal key.

The Kevo is powered by four AA bat-teries that can be installed inside the door. Homeowners can open the Bluetooth-enabled lock with the touch of a finger if using a Bluetooth fob that is paired with the lock, or a smart phone with

We have had many clients ask for these types of locks in the past, but recent smart locks (along with home automation, in general) have become a lot more accessible.

She wrote the e-book on confidence.

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the Kevo app. The mobile app works with Apple iOS and some Android phones, but not with BlackBerry or Windows Phone operating systems.

“Hardware is moving quickly to elec-tronics,” says Dave Rae, vice-president of operations for door and window company Madero.

Fully mechanical locks still command a large portion of the company’s hardware sales, but new products such as Samsung’s Smart Entry levers and deadbolts are also moving fast, he says.

Smart Entry products rely on RFID (radio-frequency identification) wireless technology. The locks come with a digital keypad that homeowners or their guests can use to key in unique personal identi-fication numbers (PIN) to open the door, or they can use RFID cards. Homeowners can issue temporary or time-sensitive PINs to guests, cleaners or repair people. The system also comes with an audit trail feature, enabling homeowners to deter-mine who entered the house and when.

The unit runs on four AA batteries. The lock plays a warning sound when batteries are about to die. The unit has a thumb-turn on the inside, as well as an op-tional keyed cylinder on the outside that can always be used to open the deadbolt.

Steel doors remain strongAlthough strides are being made in the area of locks and hardware, the materials popular for doors have changed little.

“Steel doors are still our strongest sell-ers,” according to Laura Fisher, director of marketing for Jeld-Wen of Canada. “I can safely say they account for more than 50% of our sales.”

Cost and durability are the chief driv-ers for its widespread popularity, she says. These doors come with a steel outer shell and foam inner core for insulation. They can sell for as low as $150 per unit, minus hardware or glazing.

Steel doors have impressive insulation properties, do not crack or warp and stand up to Canada’s extreme cold tempera-tures; however, they are prone to dents and dings. Most have baked-on polyester finishes that require periodic repainting. More expensive models come with tex-tured wood-fibre coating of laminated wood veneers.

Fibreglass doors offer both toughness and low maintenance. Similar to steel

doors, they feature a fibreglass cladding on the outside and an inner foam core. Fibreglass is impervious to moisture, rot and insects. They remain stable and do not warp under extreme weather condi-tions. These doors cost anywhere from $200 to $2,500.

Fibreglass doors come in a variety of colours and some are even embossed with a texture that mimic the look of real wood.

Rae says Madero offers a “pre-pigmented” fibreglass door from NanYa Plastics that “never requires painting.” The paint is in-jected into the skin of the material at the time of manufacturing. Composite door jambs for this line are also pre-pigmented.

A common issue with fibreglass doors is bowing. Madero addresses this by in-stalling a steel bar inside the door on the lock side that strengthens the door.

Steel doors are still our strongest sellers,” according to Laura Fisher, director of marketing for Jeld-Wen of Canada. “I can safely say they account for more than 50% of our sales.”

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On the top end of the price scale are wood doors. The versatility, natural beau-ty and old world charm of wood doors make them ideal choices for traditionally-styled homes. There are many hardwood varieties that are resistant to insects. New manufacturing techniques, as well as stains and polyurethane finishes, prevent wood doors from warping due moisture absorption.

Doors made from wood veneers that cost around $300 to $600 often have insulation material injected into their cores. Doors made from rarer species can cost as high as $6,000 to $10,000.

Return to the modern lookFisher says owners of new and renovated homes appear to be moving away from elaborately detailed entry ways.

“We are seeing a propensity of modern and contemporary looks,” she says. “With doors, I would describe this as less radius and more angles.” About five years ago, six-panel doors were very popular. “Now we are seeing more two-panel model,” she adds.

Traditionally, doors were made to stand out from the rest of the home’s façade, reflecting the style of the home yet set apart by texture and colour. This outlook is slowly changing, notes Prabhu.

“You will see more doors that are vi-sually incorporated to the exterior clad-ding of the building,” he says. “You will see them flush with the wall surfaces and in some cases you might not see them right away. They are becoming discreet elements where the act of entering the home takes prominence architecturally over emphasizing just the door itself.”

The look extends to the hardware. Fisher has three words for the current trend in hardware: “Sleek, slim, silvery.”

Door handles, plates and other metal components are either square or rect-angular. They are devoid of scrolls and curlicues and often have a soft, silvery satin finish.

“There will be a few exceptions though,” she says. “Some people, espe-cially those in renovated older homes, often go for the craftsman look, which tends to be heavier and bolder in terms of hardware.”

Fisher also says that entry doors are becoming wider. In the past, the typical 6’8” door was usually 32” to 36” wide. Today,

some homeowners are specifying doors of the same height but want them to be as wide as 48”. This is where custom ordered units become a viable option, she says.

Off-the-shelf models cost less, because they are cut in standard dimensions and come with less styling options. Custom ordered units, cut and manufactured to the customer-specific measurements, may also incorporate special materials to jazz up the door.

To offer customers the best of both worlds, says Rae, many dealers are mov-ing to “cut-out programs.”

With the cut-out method, dealers pro-vide a selection of inserts such as glass panels that alters a door’s look. This way cost is kept down, inventory is low and customers get more style choices.

Key takeawaySmart lock technology is still devel-oping and there are still a number of

concerns being addressed by manufactur-ers. Developing a reliable and constant power supply is one issue, and why many models still offer a physical key backup. Many manufacturers are still working on expanding interoperability to various mobile device operating systems. There are also security concerns regarding the possibility of smart locks being hacked.

Still, Prabhu believes contractors should not wait too long for the trend to catch on.

“My advice for contractors is to keep up-to-date with the technology, because they are going to see more and more clients asking for these locks as well as full integration into home automation systems based on their own research of products and services,” he says. “It is defi-nitely important to keep up to speed with homeowners, because in many cases they will bring things to the table contractors have not even heard about yet.”

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FEATURECA

A big part of contracting jobs involves navigating the many restrictive bylaws which vary from township to township and lake to lake. BY JOHN G. SMITH

Cottage country can be de-ceptively peaceful. Walk to the water’s edge and you can hear the cry of a loon or maybe the distant drone of a fishing boat.

Then there is the unmistakable view.The contractors who specialize in

building cottages are more likely to rec-ognize the underlying challenges of the remote and rugged locations.

This year, Dan Mortimer of Cottage Country Builders in Port Carling, Ont., will work on at least four sites that can only be accessed by water. Every board, nail, screw or crew member will need to be moved in and out by barge.

Even the roads that exist will present challenges of their own. Peter Smith of

the self-named Peter Smith Construc-tion, also a contractor in Ontario’s famed Muskoka region, refers to load restrictions that are enforced during spring thaws. “Things like concrete trucks are almost too heavy when they are sitting there empty,” he says. The snow may be gone, but crews still need to wait for excava-tors and concrete. “It makes it tough to get started.”

Access issues can even extend to the cottage properties themselves. Work on a boathouse, for example, will typically be completed from the water’s edge. Prop-erty owners are not anxious to have heavy equipment parked on other areas of their land. No matter. The grades are often too steep to create roads anyway.

“Sometimes it is just down and out

labour,” Smith says, referring to how related quotes need to account for the effort to haul material up and down the hill by hand.

To compound the challenges, the con-struction season can be surprisingly short.

“We have to have our work completed by July 1,” Mortimer says, noting how property owners want heavy equipment parked in the summer months. “You are lucky if you are breaking ground before September 1.” Then there is the scramble to get all materials in place before every-thing begins to freeze, and the race to complete the work by the next Victoria Day weekend.

“I have poured concrete all winter long

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up here,” he says, adding that the Weather Network cannot dictate when the work can be accomplished. This year, he saw framers working eight-hour days in -20° C temperatures for two straight weeks.

“These guys are tough dudes,” he says. “You have to keep going.”

The planningThat is, when they are allowed to keep going.

A big part of contracting jobs in cot-tage country involves navigating the many restrictive bylaws which vary from township to township and lake to lake.

“It is like a moving target,” Mortimer says, referring to those which govern the Muskoka region. “It is all restrictive as much as possible.” In many cases, the bylaws will not allow property owners to build what they want in the first place.

Boathouses offer a perfect example. They are the first item on every Mus-koka wish list after the cottage itself, even beating out the garage. The structures originally required 250’ of lakefront. That has expanded to 300’.

The rules become more restrictive with every passing year. Where one building is 40’ from the water’s edge, the next cottage may need to be 100’ back, Smith says. It means contractors need to remain aware of grandfathering clauses that might allow new structures to be built on the footprint of its predecessor.

“Septic location is another thing,” Smith adds. “Some townships will let you put it closer to the lake than others.”

Even when a site is selected, cottage country contractors will also have more choices to make when orienting the structure, he says. In an urban setting, everything tends to be dictated by the road’s location. In cottage country, build-ers are asked to find ways to preserve natural features, and maximize the views of sunsets and lakes.

A matter of styleThen there is the question of what the structures will actually include.

The image of the modern retreats clearly differs from Mortimer’s own Lake Temagami cottage, which has no power or running water.

Where past generations were happy to open the doors and windows on a hot summer day, the modern cottage owners

are looking for state-of-the-art heating systems and central air conditioning, he says. “Everybody wants it even though they will only use it two days a year.”

“Nobody wants an old-style cottage with an outhouse anymore,” Smith quips.

While the water may be drawn from the lake, cottagers are also taking more steps to make it potable by installing filter systems and UV lights. His customers are also looking for heated water lines and insulated covers to help extend the season and allow for the safe wintering of water systems without a lot of maintenance.

“In-floor heating has become very prominent even though most of these places are not occupied in the winter-time,” Mortimer adds. “Geothermal and lake loops have become more common even though, most of the time, they are not being used to their potential.”

Some of the materials have shifted, too. He has seen painted finishes replaced with composite building materials, alu-minum, steel and concrete. Wooden pick-ets are giving way to stainless steel and glass railings. Even the roofs are flattening when compared to the region’s traditional peak designs. “Most of the diehards would shudder at the thought.”

The latter shift has as much to do with practical needs as a sense of style. “Now you can occupy all or your elevation,” Mortimer says, referring to maximums set at 35’ from the grade to the peak of the roof. Couple a flat roof with three floors and 5,000 sf of traditional cottage becomes 15,000 sf of living space.

“Everyone today loves the open concept plan, whether it is a primary residence or secondary residence,” adds

Smith, referring in particular to the spaces which support entertaining.

The living space is only part of the project. Refined details are in higher de-mand than ever. Enlarged kitchens are featuring high-end painted cabinetry, large fridges and commercial-style ranges, complete with natural or manmade stone surfaces. Kitchen islands are being high-lighted with wood designs.

There are also efforts to enhance the outdoor living areas. Screened porches certainly make for more welcoming nights during black fly season. “It should be part of the Building Code here,” Smith jokes. He has also seen more clients look for covered decks and porches, to offer some added protection during inclement weather. “Another thing we have done a few of now is a wood-burning fireplace incorporated into the covered porch or screen porch,” he says. “It is a nice effect… I know we certainly enjoy ours. It is par-ticularly pleasant when there is a little summertime rainfall.”

“One of the common things is a lot of the handwork. It always seems to be the amount of detail in the structure,” Mortimer says. V joint boards have be-come especially popular, particularly among customers who are looking to mimic details found in New England properties.

The increasing focus on finishing touches is good news for Smith, a licensed carpenter who began his career as a cabi-net maker. “Anything related to carpentry is something we can do,” he says, noting how his crews have built everything from the cottage foundations to the dining room tables. P

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Full timber frames may be too costly for some budgets, but he incorporated many types of wood finishes and timber accents that do not break the bank. “We do lots of smaller details,” he explains, referring to decorative trusses that are added after the fact.

“It is all about wood products,” Mor-timer says. Not just any woods, either. He is using far more exotic varieties such as olive-brown ipe, Indonesian hardwoods, and teak. There are also more spec’ cot-tages being created with painted wood finishes, and cabinets highlighted in an antique wash.

“Always, always wood floors,” he adds.Building materials that are old can also

have a new life in the form of re-planed flooring. Other premium options Smith has seen include black walnut. His busi-ness has installed three floors made of that material in the last three years, creating a look in a beautiful chocolate brown.

There are affordable stone options as well, thanks to thinly cut granite to add visual appeal around a fireplace without requiring the skills of a mason. “You can

use a wood-burning insert fireplace and frame it,” Smith says. “It is a fraction of the cost and also a fraction of the weight.”

The one thing all of these projects share in common is an increasing reliance on contractors with specialized skills.

“The guys that are good are well known, and they are really busy,” Smith says. It puts a bigger focus on scheduling. “You have to be sharp enough to plan ahead and say, ‘I need you in six weeks’

and get on his schedule.“I prefer to use the same people over

and over again just because of the reli-ability,” he says.

“The skill level up here is quite high. We do not have a lot of row housing, so we do not have framers working at cut-rate prices,” Mortimer adds. “Everything up here is custom, so needless to say, the trades that are here on average are more skilled.”

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CAFEATURE

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FEATURECA

New architectural coatings make your exterior painting and staining projects easier to complete. They also satisfy your customers’ need for durability.BY STEFAN DUBOWSKI

Homeowners love the look of freshly-painted window trim or a newly-stained porch, but they loathe paying to have that work done. That could be why some customers go as many as 15 years before finally calling in a pro-fessional to spruce up their homes. It could

also be why some contractors have not considered closely the quality and capabilities of exterior paints and stains recently.

Today’s coatings are nothing like their predecessors.“With the VOC regulations came many changes and most

products are water-based now,” says Mario Mathieu, training manager for Canada at PPG Architectural Coatings. He is refer-ring to the fact that in 2010, the federal government changed the rules regarding the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that architectural coatings are allowed to emit. VOCs are potentially carcinogenic, so the lower the emission rate, the better. Many traditional oil-based coatings, however, do not meet the new lower VOC limits.

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New styles call for dark colours matched

with soft shadesPaint maker Pratt & Lambert has noticed a number

of notable exterior styling trends. Keep the following co-lour combinations in mind when discussing design choices with your customers.

• Dark greens and blues paired with soft greys create a warm yet modern style.

• Black, bronze or metal-coloured window vinyl sharpens the look of a house.• Wood front doors in dark tones add elegance.

• Horizontal cedar boards bring a swath of natural red or brown to contempo-

rary palettes.

Since the rules changed, paint and stain makers have devel-oped new formulas. PPG subsidiary Sico, for one, has created a line of solid and semi-transparent stains that use a mix of acrylic resins and alkyd or linseed oil. That combination meets the government’s VOC regulations, and increases adhesion and wood penetration. For its translucent wood finish, Sico employs a solvent with flexible alkyds and special nano-sized pigments to provide exceptional clarity and UV resistance.

Long lasting colourClearly, modern paints and stains are very different from their forerunners. Other aspects of exterior projects, though, are the same now as they have ever been. Your customers will inevita-bly ask the question that clients have been asking contractors for years: will my new paintwork or deck stain still look good two, five or 10 years down the road?

The answer depends on nu-merous factors such as weather patterns and the location of the customer’s property. Coastal prop-erties, for instance, may need new paint jobs sooner since they are exposed to intense sun and air that contains high levels of salt. No matter the locale, modern coatings last much longer than older paints and stains ever did, reducing the need for repainting and lowering costs for your customers over the long run.

For example, Pratt & Lambert’s RedSeal Exterior Ultra Mois-ture-Resistant Paint is designed to create a mildew-resistant coating that withstands years of harsh weather without peeling, chipping or cracking. Meanwhile, Sherwin-Williams’ SuperPaint uses advanced resin technology to resist frost in cold weather, and chalking and blistering in hot conditions.

For exterior stair and deck projects, paint maker Lauren-

tide recently introduced a practical option: a floor paint that is designed to be as durable as oil and as easy to work with as latex. The key to this double performance is the polyurethane added to the formula. The result: like oil, this hybrid product sticks to surfaces extremely well, so it withstands wear from traffic and weather. Like latex, the product dries quickly and is easy to clean up. The paint is also low-odour and low-VOC, making it safe to use and environmentally friendly.

Never a bad time to paintNew paints and stains are designed to save time

and money not only for your clients, but also for your business. Many paints, such

as Pratt & Lambert’s RedSeal Exterior Ultra Moisture-Resistant Paint and

Sherwin-Williams’ Resilience Paint, can stand up to rain within just two hours of application. That means you may be able work on your proj-ect even if the skies are threatening. Many of the latest coatings also can be applied in temperatures as low as

2° C, potentially extending the work season for the conscientious Canadian

contractor.

Spruce up sidingA number of contractors do a brisk business paint-

ing siding. Smart. Siding has been a popular product in the Canadian home-building industry for decades, and some homeowners want an economical way to update vinyl or aluminum facades.

Traditionally, siding-painting experts steered customers away from hues that are substantially darker than the original siding colour. That is because in the past, dark paint would take on more heat from the sun, which would cause the sid-ing to warp. Today; however, paint makers offer coatings that enable homeowners to choose any colour, no matter how dark,


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without fear of warping. PPG’s Manor Hall and Sun-Proof paints, for instance, have “SidingSafe Color Technology” for that very purpose.

Sherwin-Williams’ Resilience Paint is also designed to allow customers to choose darker colours for siding.

One company that has specialized in siding painting is WePaintSiding.com, which serves Toronto and surrounding suburbs. On its website, the firm explains that it starts each job by power washing the aluminum or vinyl walls a few days before applying the paint. This cleaning cycle removes dirt and chalk, which is the white powdered substance that often forms on aging siding. If the wash process exposes large bare spots, WePaintSiding.com applies a primer. When the bare spots are relatively small; however, the company relies on high-quality self-priming paint that is specially formulated for siding.

As for the longevity of WePaintSiding.com’s work, the com-pany claims that some of its earliest jobs date back 12 years and still look excellent today.

The firm cautions that to do this sort of project well, you have to know your stuff. “Cleaning, preparation, process and products employed are all critical and many DIYers and painters make

mistakes that cause the paint to peel, and it is true that peeling paint on a smooth surface

like aluminum or vinyl is a nightmare

to fix. That is why it is best to hire specialists

for this type of job.”That warning aside,

you may discover that the latest siding-friend-ly exterior paints are useful for your new projects. You most cer-tainly will find that overall, the innovative

coatings on the market today are more durable and easier to work with than their predecessors. That means you will com-plete each project more quickly, and your clients will be able to enjoy their paintwork longer.

New SuperDeck product line saves cottagers time and money Sherwin-Williams is introducing a new deck finishing system designed for staining, sealing, stripping and cleaning decks, all of which could help contractors restore customers’ older decks and protect newly built projects. Known as Su-perDeck, the system features stains with infrared reflective technology that reflects ultraviolet rays. Apply this novel product to your client’s deck to keep the surface cool and comfortable to walk on, even on the hottest summer days. The SuperDeck portfolio also includes a semi-solid waterborne stain with a rich, pigmented appear-ance that lets natural wood grain show through. As well, the new SuperDeck Log Home and Deck Stain provides the appearance and durability of a satin varnish, but is easier to apply. This product also affords exceptional water beading proper-ties and UV inhibitors for enhanced resilience.

How to prep a surface for a professional paint jobOne of the most challenging aspects of exterior painting is clean-ing the surface before you apply the paint. Dirt, grease and other substances build up on outside walls. Unless the surface is cleaned thoroughly, the paint will not adhere properly, which can lead to flak-ing and other problems in the future. Paint manufacturer Sico offers step-by-step instructions to help you make sure the surface you plan to paint is as clean as possible, such that the final results put smiles on your customers’ faces.

You will need:• a bucket• hot water• an insecticide sprayer• a scouring sponge• a high-pressure washer• rubber boots

• Polyprep Cleaner with active oxygen, either 771-135 (liquid) or 771-136 (powder)

• rubber gloves• protective goggles

Steps:Don the boots, gloves and goggles to protect your skin and eyes from the cleaner.

1.Fill the bucket with hot water.2. Add 60 g of cleaner per litre of water.3. Use the insecticide sprayer to spray the solution onto the sur-

face. 4. Use the scouring sponge to rub the surface vigorously. Leave the

solution on the wall for two to three minutes to penetrate the dirt and grease. Do not let the solution dry.

5. Fill the power washer with clean water and use it to rinse the surface. Keep the nozzle within 30 cm of the surface. For wood, keep the pressure below 3400 KPa to prevent damage.

6. Let the surface dry for two to three sunny days before painting.

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Sico cannot guarantee that the displayed colour will match Sico colour precisely. It is highly recommended that you pick up colour chips from the Sico display, as these reproduce Sico colours best.

Sico and Sico Evolution are registered trademarks of PPG group of companies. DurabiliT is a trademark of PPG group of companies. © AkzoNobel, revisions © 2013 PPG Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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CAFEATURE


Today’s contractors are varying their roofs as best they can to stand out from the competition.BY DAVID CHILTON SAGGERS

RooftopInnovation

FEATURECA


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Type “residential roof cover” into Google and multiple examples of what keeps out the rain will pop up. In some locales leaves from ba-nana trees do the job;

in others, including Canada, the choice is a lot more sophisticated. It runs the gamut from asphalt to slate to cedar to clay and metal including steel, aluminum, zinc and copper.

What a contractor or homeowner chooses to top off a house depends on cost, aesthetic appeal, design and more. In most cases that choice will be asphalt shingles, because of their lower cost, weatherproof qualities and acceptable aesthetics.

Asphalt is not as long-lasting as some premium materials, but properly installed (and proper installation is key with any


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IKO

Design TalkPeter Kalinger is the technical director of the Canadian Roofing Contractors Association in Ottawa. Q: Roof covers seem like a static sort

of product. Is it evolving quicker than some may think?

A: It has undergone tremendous change in the past couple of decades. These changes have to do with a number of things. First of all, there is the striv-ing towards energy conservation and reducing the carbon footprint. And we have seen the entry of some prod-ucts that will not only act as a barrier between indoor and outdoor environ-ments, but also some of these now can lead to the reduction of energy consumption either through passive or active means.

kind of roof cover) asphalt shingles should last anywhere between 15 and 30 years. Such shingles are made of two types of material: organic and fibreglass. The for-mer are based on waste paper that has been saturated with asphalt, a byproduct of oil, to make them waterproof. The tops are then coated with salt and ceramic granules. The latter are manufactured using a base layer of fibreglass reinforcing mat. The mat is then covered in asphalt containing mineral fillers to make the shingle waterproof. These shingles are more commonly used these days and are supplanting the organic variety.

“Largely the construction of shingles has not changed, going only from felt to fi-breglass,” says Derek Fee, a Toronto-based spokesman for The IKO Group, a major supplier of roofing products. “Change tends to come a little more slowly in this industry,” Fee says, and when it does the

drivers are aesthetics and cost. A few years ago the cost of asphalt went up 400% because of the soaring price of oil.

As relatively inexpensive asphalt is, so relatively expensive is slate, costing (by one estimate) five times as much. That may be excused given the naturally quar-ried stone’s durability and multiple colour options, including the stereotypical grey. Slate will last well over 100 years once installed, indeed some suppliers will give it a 100 year warranty and its aesthetic appeal is well known. Slate’s high density makes it naturally waterproof, and it is not affected by mold. It will not catch fire, either, and it is largely indifferent to temperature fluctuations, no small consid-eration in Canada. The qualities of slate, and its ease of customization, make it highly attractive and maintenance-lite, but that does not mean it is without its drawbacks. For example, slate breaks if

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it is stepped on, and replacing a broken slate has complications, not the least of which is the near impossibility of finding an exact match since each batch of slate is different. Installation is also highly spe-cialized given its initial fragility and much heavier weight. Good news, since savvy homeowners will look to contractors.

If slate is heavy, and asphalt less so, what about the other roof cover starting to make inroads in the market? Metal, whether galvanized steel and aluminum

or very pricy exotics such as zinc and copper, is not heavier, as one might ex-pect, but lighter, says Bernie Fennema, who works in quality control and sales at Westform Metals in Chilliwack, B.C. With steel, 26 gauge is the average thick-ness used for residential housing shingles, but there is also the option of 24 gauge, Fennema says. Similarly, he says there is greater choice for householders than there used to be.

“We have added more and more shapes

Passive would be products that have certain colours, for example, that will reflect sunlight as opposed to absorbing it; and will have the effect of reducing the heating and cooling costs of the interior of the house. It will also have significant consequences for the urban heat island effect in cities.

Q: And the active?A: That would be where you are ac-

tually producing energy from the roof. These would be solar panels and solar shingles, and now we are seeing wind turbines on roofs.

Q: The roof materials themselves, are they still the traditional types?

A: The overwhelming majority of resi-dential roofs are still covered with asphalt shingles. We have seen a very strong growth in metal roof-ing, nonetheless. This is due to the fact that manufacturers can now make metal shingles that come in a variety of finishes, colours, shapes and forms. Many of them are manu-factured to simulate tile or simulate


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slate. We also have now the intro-duction of synthetic or polymeric shingles. Again, they come in a vari-ety of shapes and forms simulating more traditional materials like cedar shakes and slate, and they have the added feature of having a very large recycled content and being recycla-ble themselves.

Q: Traditional materials come at tra-ditional costs, so how will more advanced, more conservation-friendly product usage play out in next five to 10 years?

A: There is no doubt cost is a major factor in terms of the selection process. But you have to separate material costs from the overall costs that include energy and re-cycling. When you are looking at materials you have to factor in not only the purchase price, but you are also going to have to factor in the service life of the product and other costs. It really depends on what you intend to do with the house.

over the last 20 years,” says Fennema. He could have added that the range of colour for metal shingles is also larger than ever before, with more 100 colours available compared with about 20 for asphalt. Still, multiple colour choices or not, homeown-ers should be made aware that, “there will be a certain amount of fading, but it is within tolerable levels,” says Fennema. The noise of rain on a metal roof will be tolerable too. Rain on metal roofs is no noisier on an asphalt one and there is less, not more, danger from lightning.

Steel roofing does not break down, except where it is subject to salt spray typically found in coastal areas, Fennema says. There, aluminum is a better bet, given its greater resistance to corrosion. Further, there is the safety of metal roof cover to consider.

“I would really like to stress the fire proofing quality of metal,” he says. As for concerns about metal containing heat or being too cold, Fennema says, “We get that question all the time. ‘Is it hot?’ ‘Is it cold?’ It all depends on what is underneath it.”

In addition to shingles, another type of metal roof cover is the Standing Seam Roof, a vertical sheet metal system. This type

of roof has raised seams, uses concealed fasteners, and has no penetrations of any kind to virtually eliminate the chance of leaks. It too uses 26 gauge and even 24 and 22 gauge steel, for example, and is usually factory finished using PVDF (polyvinyli-dene fluoride) resin paint.

Curb appeal drives the roof cover mar-ket, but what about the parts the home-owner and homebuyer

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do not see? For example, what of smart vapour barriers to prevent vapour trans-fer and phase change materials that adapt to the climate? Peel-and-stick products are another such innovation. Fee says there is a rubberized peel-and-stick ice-and-water shield that goes underneath shingles and seals itself around a nail head, and peel-and-stick cover for flat roofs is also available.

Design is driving the need for roof

product innovation, as Fee says today’s contractors are varying their roofs as best they can to stand out from the competi-tion. There is only so much they can do, within various building codes, so product choice has to be limited. That may be a moot point in a decade. Peter Kalinger, technical director of the Canadian Roof-ing Contractors Association in Ottawa, says he thinks assembled on-site modular design is on its way.

Q: Is anything changing under the roof?

A: I would be skeptical about the use of metal joists in residential roof-ing simply because there have been problems in the past with corrosion. They are also very difficult to install in comparison with wood trusses. Do not forget we are a wood-based economy, and we have had very, very good experience with the use of lum-ber to build houses. With regard to innovative products, we are seeing the introduction of things like smart vapour barriers that actually change their diffusibility and permeability based on temperatures. We are also looking at phased change materi-als with the use of nanotechnology. These are really leading edge items.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Contractor Advantage May / June 2015

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Transcript of Contractor Advantage May / June 2015