{"id":24980,"date":"2024-02-22T18:06:50","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T02:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/the-basics-arent-so-basic-anymore\/"},"modified":"2024-02-22T18:06:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T02:06:55","slug":"the-basics-arent-so-basic-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/the-basics-arent-so-basic-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"The basics aren\u2019t so basic anymore"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"-\"<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Interior shot features batt insulation in the both interior and exteriors walls and the ceiling space between floors. Photo courtesy of David Godkin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When Henri Belisle, President of Burnaby, B.C.-based TQ Construction made that remark he was reflecting on his firm\u2019s presence in Vancouver\u2019s renovation market \u2013 first under the guidance of his father Ralph Belisle who founded the company in the spare bedroom of the family home in 1989.<\/p>\n

What were the basics then and what are they now? Ask a homeowner and it\u2019s always been about end product, said Belisle. \u201cWhat people assume should be basic to even the simplest renovated house was not included ever years ago,\u201d said Belisle, \u201cfor example, premium items like a heat pump, in-floor heating intricate door systems, and multi-point hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, don\u2019t expect the contractor to include the cost of those items in project price, Belisle added. Jeff Bain, president of Port Coquitlam\u2019s JKB Construction Ltd., agrees. But actual back to basics where contractor performance is concerned is driven by, among other things, technology, he says. \u201cWhen I started out as a carpenter in 1979 it was all bricks and mortar, we were building boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow everything is energy efficiency, insulation, air tightness and mechanically driven solutions.\u201d These have become the new basics in building renovation. Along with these are\u00a0 tools no longer considered very essential, such as the once common manual level used years ago and now almost entirely replaced by lasers and thought key by most renovation contractors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re slowly getting away from every extension cord and air line as well, which pleases me because I\u2019m always tripping over the damn things,\u201d said Bain. Above all, \u201cyou have to be a smarter builder,\u201d supported by the half dozen classes Bain takes every year \u201cto upgrade our knowledge base. Everything keeps changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a medium sized contractor like TQ Construction specializing in additions, full home renos and high performance custom homes the basics are also technology driven. But once again squaring that with what the customer and renovator want is always a challenge.<\/p>\n

Take the increasing demand for net-zero renos or energy efficiency. Increasing energy standards, accompanying that demand, focus the contractor\u2019s attention on wall thickness and layout, for example, often set against limitations in architectural freedom.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s because you need to factor heat loss into the building design itself as opposed to simply asking Does it look beautiful?\u201d Belisle said. Pleasing windows styles run head on into more practical requirements. Many homeowners are very keen on Eurostyle tilt and turn handles, for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, in a higher performing house where you\u2019re trying to maximize air tightness and insulation values you are often limited in the functionality of your windows,\u201d said Belisle. \u201cOr you have to go with a very expensive window that will meet a high-performance standard while having a more complicated operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Go big or go home?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In contrast to British Columbia\u2019s recent Five Step mandate for more energy efficiency in new and custom-built houses, Mark Cooper views renovation as \u201cmore like a gradually changing dial,\u201d where much needed changes will be mostly incremental.<\/p>\n

Movement of that dial to more resilient, higher performance renovations will pose major changes for homeowners, added the president of North Vancouver-based Shakespeare Homes & Renovations Inc.<\/p>\n

They will, for example, no longer be able to simply hire a contractor saying, \u201c`I want to strip all my siding off, make my house airtight and outinsulate it with rigid foam panels to increase my R value for heat loss,\u2019\u201d without, Cooper noted, contractors \u201ctalking to the homeowner about mechanical needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAir tightness is a wonderful thing, but now you\u2019re going from a house that naturally breathes to enveloping the house in an airtight environment where it no longer breathes,\u201d Cooper explained. \u201cAnd if you\u2019re not doing something about that, you\u2019re going to have structural failure and potentially an unhealthy house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Large scale renovations can be as complex or more so than new houses, he added. An existing structure will hold you back during renovation if there is no insulation beneath an older slab, for example. Ditto tying in an addition to a home to meet code while simultaneously failing to ask, \u201chow you are addressing the old side of the house in conjunction with a renovation?\u201d<\/p>\n

Meantime, going for air tightness, insulation and mechanical requirements without the requisite knowledge and training \u201cmeans you\u2019re actually playing with something dangerous,\u201d Cooper cautioned. By upping a wall\u2019s R value and adding spray foam or outsulation while missing a mechanical requirement you create a dew point factor \u201cwhere the air in your home is no longer being exchanged and you rot your structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

So are the basics, particularly in larger scale renovations, changing, Cooper was asked. \u201cI think so,\u201d he replied. Problem is many homeowners look to install heat pumps and electrification of their homes without fully realizing that the latter in particular \u201cis a massive undertaking,\u201d noted Cooper.<\/p>\n

That said, advanced load sharing technology to add a dryer and car charger to a single charger is out there, provided you discuss it with a well-educated electrical contractor, Cooper stressed. \u201cI don\u2019t think anything is like what it was ten or twenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same can be said on the HR side. Geotechnical consultants have become very common on renovation sites for excavation and even basic footings to ensure materials stability. Also of importance are structural engineers, of course, and notably energy consultants to help you obtain government sponsored energy rebates.<\/p>\n

One more thing<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Whatever you do don\u2019t overlook basic comfort, said Cooper. \u201cIt is one of the most important features of your home.\u201d Contractors need to know where comfort comes from. \u201cIs it the couch you\u2019re sitting on that\u2019s cozy or is it a draft-free room?\u201d he asks. \u201cIs it on the thermal side preventing loss of heat through your quality, high performance windows while keeping cool in summer?\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, think more deeply, Cooper urges contactors. Ask more questions. Ultimately, these drive the serious contractor to finding answers to these and other questions through better education and training. This, in turn, forms the knowledge base upon which the basics \u2013 never entirely carved in stone \u2013 are best understood and put into practice.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n