{"id":12378,"date":"2023-01-28T16:31:39","date_gmt":"2023-01-29T00:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/everything-eco-canadian-contractor\/"},"modified":"2023-01-28T16:31:40","modified_gmt":"2023-01-29T00:31:40","slug":"everything-eco-canadian-contractor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/everything-eco-canadian-contractor\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Eco | Canadian Contractor"},"content":{"rendered":"

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All photos courtesy of Canadian Contractor staff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

M<\/span>ost people don\u2019t turn a temporary job assignment into a satisfying lifelong career. But then again, most people aren\u2019t Stephen Snider, president of Steve Snider Construction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Snider stumbled into the construction business straight out of school, and never looked back. \u201cThe day after I finished grade 12, I started in construction. This was supposed to be a temporary job, since I was planning to go to college in the fall,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI had just turned 17.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Snider\u2019s plan was to work in construction for a few months, earn a bit of money, and then go back to school to study to be an electronic technologist, but things didn\u2019t turn out as planned. \u201cThe contractor I was working for asked me if I wanted to apprentice,\u201d he explains, \u201cSo I took on a carpentry apprenticeship.\u201d That decision, made 45 years ago, would shape the course of Snider\u2019s life.<\/span><\/p>\n

A natural career choice<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding things,\u201d as Snider puts it, was something he was always interested in, so a career as a contractor was a natural choice. \u201cEven as a little kid,\u201d he says, \u201cI liked to build things out of wood, so this was a good fit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1980, Snider decided to get into business for himself. No longer an apprentice carpenter, he was ready to move on from being an employee to running the show. Newly-married, he and his bride moved to Port Perry, Ont. where she had just been hired for a new job. \u201cI knew a couple of people in the real estate business in the area, and they kept me busy for a while with renovations,\u201d Snider recalls. \u201cThen, things just naturally progressed into building houses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He took on his first custom-build project in 1982. \u201cIt was a fairly basic kind of \u201880s-looking side-split,\u201d Snider says humbly. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t anything out of the ordinary.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Today, Steve Snider Construction still does renovations, and still builds custom homes, but they\u2019re anything but ordinary. They\u2019re models of energy-efficiency and comfort. \u201cWhen I started with R-2000 homes, it put me into a niche market,\u201d Snider says. \u201cI was catering to people who wanted a better home, better energy-efficiency and better indoor air quality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of Snider\u2019s customers learned about the benefits of an R-2000 home and were looking for a contractor who could build to those standards. Steve Snider Construction stood out as a<\/span><\/p>\n

leader in this end of the custom home building market, which translated into a lot of new business for Snider and his team.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Snider wasn\u2019t content to just wait for customers to seek him out whenever they wanted an R-2000 home. Instead, he actively promoted the benefits of energy-efficiency, and was so convinced that this standard was the key to building a comfortable home that he would take the time to inform his customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf they weren\u2019t looking to build an R-2000 home, I would educate them and explain the benefits,\u201d he adds. \u201cAnd I never had anyone say, \u2018No, I don\u203at want to do that.\u2019 Once they understood why this is a superior way of building a home, they wanted those benefits for themselves and their family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Keeping up with progress<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"-\"Steve Snider Construction has evolved over the years, and as new energy-efficient technologies come to market, Snider is always eager to learn about them and determine if they could be applied to his projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1996, I got into insulated concrete forms,\u201d he recalls. \u201cSo I built my first insulated concrete form home, from the footings to the roof. And since then, we have built many ICF homes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As Snider\u2019s company grew over the decades, so did the size of his staff. Today, however, he only has five full-time staff. Everyone else is hired on to do a specific job. \u201cI used to have a lot more staff because we used to do everything ourselves,\u201d he adds, \u201cfrom footings and framing to trim. But we got so busy that this approach didn\u2019t work anymore. So we started subcontracting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Steve Snider Construction now functions more like a general contractor, and Snider says that his team does everything the sub-trades don\u2019t or can\u2019t. Finding subcontractors who understand Snider\u2019s vision of energy-efficiency was frustrating at first, he says, but over the years he has managed to assemble a team of tradespeople that he trusts, and that have worked with him for years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had the same plumber for 15 years, and the same electrician for 35,\u201d he says. \u201cOnce you train them, and everyone is on the same page, and they all do good work, there\u2019s no reason to change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Like his subcontractors, Snider\u2019s employees have been with him for a very long time. Three of them, he says, were <\/span>hired as co-op students many years ago, and have learned and evolved with the business.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to get co-op students every year from high school, so we got to see which students were good prospects,\u201d Snider explains. \u201cAnd three of my staff were co-op students. One has been with me for over 22 years. He was my first co-op student. Another one has been with me for probably 15 years now, and another for close to 15 years. He\u203as my general manager.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Energy-efficient projects<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"-\"Today, Snider takes on about 10 projects per year, including renovations, additions and custom homes. He says that keeps his team very busy. \u201cRight now, we\u2019re booking into 2024,\u201d he adds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless of the scope and size of the project, energy-efficiency is always top-of-mind for Snider. \u201cRecently,\u201d he says, \u201cwe did two renovations, one that was Net-Zero, and the other was Net-Zero-ready. I simply want to be able to deliver the best project possible, and I know that the best money homeowners can spend on a building is when they\u2019re investing in the envelope.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Snider, it just makes sense to build this way. \u201cIf you make the building envelope airtight and efficient, you can <\/span>put whatever mechanicals in there that you want, and you\u2019re going to get the most efficiency out of them,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

Homeowners, Snider adds, experience the difference a quality building envelope makes. \u201cThey notice the difference in indoor air quality versus their previous home, and they often remark on how comfortable they feel in their new home,\u201d he adds. \u201cThey\u2019re also very efficient to heat and cool, and that\u2019s a big plus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Once a customer experiences one of Snider\u2019s energy-efficient home designs, they\u2019re usually very grateful and happy with the end product. \u201cOne of our customers remarked that the energy savings they see every year are enough to cover their increase in property taxes,\u201d Snider laughs. \u201cOur customers are so happy with their new homes and recognize the extra effort everyone puts into their project, that many decide to express their gratitude to our team in tangible ways, to thank them for the quality of the workmanship.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only are customers celebrating Steve Snider Construction for the quality of their work, but so is the industry. \u201cWe\u2019ve received numerous awards for air-tightness and energy-efficiency over the years from EnerQuality, as well as from the Durham Region Home Builders\u203a Association,\u201d Snider says. \u201cWe were also a finalist on a national level at the CHBA conference awards.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Consumer education<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Located in Port Perry, Ont., Steve Snider Construction takes on projects in Durham, as well as in the more picturesque part of the province, the Kawarthas Northumberland region.<\/span><\/p>\n

When discussing a project with a potential customer, Snider takes the time to educate that customer on the benefits of a tight building-envelope, insulation and building to R-2000 standards, or beyond. \u201cAs a founding CHBA member of the Net-Zero Home Building and Renovation Program, we are able to monitor and implement the leading, <\/span>which is then incorporated into their architectural design. It\u2019s a process.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Future builds<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The definition of an energy-efficient home has changed over the decades, and Snider says that he can see the concept evolving even more in the near future. \u201cI think some consumers are conscious of their carbon footprint, and that they will keep that in mind when making decisions about the design of their future homes,\u201d he explains. \u201cSo I think the next phase in energy-efficient home construction will focus on the carbon footprint, and how we can minimize it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever the future might hold, it\u2019s clear that Steve Snider Construction will continue to push the energy-efficiency envelope, and to promote the benefits of building homes that customers value.\u00a0 <\/span>cc<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n