Bathrooms are typically wet thus it is no suprise that the most common accidents are slips, falls & scalding from hot water.  Although you cannot completely eliminate accidents in bathrooms, a well-designed bathroom should consider safety a priority.  A few things to consider when redesigning your bathroom:

1. Use slip resistant flooring; this will reduce the chances of falls caused by slippery floors.
2. Eliminate steps into tubs or shower areas.  For tubs, consider building a surround so you can sit down prior to entering or exiting the tub.
3. Shower doors should open into the room rather than the shower.  Glass doors should be tempered.
4. Install proper faucets; consider pressure-balance and/or temperature-controlled valves to prevent scalding from sudden temperature change.  Faucets should be accessible; you should not have to stretch or reach for the valves.
5. Install benches and/or grab bars, especially in showers.
6. Whirlpool tubs should have accessible (from inside & outside tub area) emergency shut-offs.
7. Use ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) on all electrical receptacles.
8. Keep all household products out of reach (or locked away) as many are poisonous.

Bathrooms & kitchens are typically the most expensive rooms to renovate.  This is due in large part to the appliances/fixtures that must be included, for example, the sink, dishwasher, range, fridge, etc.  Furthermore, you can’t really go for the cheapest item as it is important to have quality products in your home or you will wear them out and have to replace in a year or two.  Here are a few pointers on what to look for in your appliances in order to save money:

Dishwasher – look for low energy consumption, a delay timer & an economy cycle or half-load button; this will save on water & money

Refrigerator – look for frost build-up prevention; by circulating the air rather than using the defroster, this will help you prevent freezer burn.

Sink – stainless steel is highly recommended as they can take more abuse and is hygienic.

Oven – consider a multi-functional oven.  This will give your cook more option like browning, thawing, and many others.

Range – consider accessories like cooker hood, splashback, grill, griddle plates, rotisserie, wok burner & fish-kettle burner

Faucet – a cost-efficient option is the three-way or tri-flow faucets that take away the need for bottled water or other purification system.  Newer models offer dual-flow for hot & cold filtered water.

Countertops – Look for durability, ease during cleaning and consider the people in your household who will be using these areas.  There are many cost-effective & aesthetically pleasing options so it really depends on what your needs are.

Flooring – The cost for installation can be just as much as the material so consider your options carefully and also do thorough research for the right installer as they can make or break your design & budget.

Bathroom Fans – Look for something that’s powerful enough for your room & ensure the noise level is to your satisfaction.  Utility exhaust fans are great for reducing odors & moisture, such as in kitchens.  Fan-forced heat models are more common in colder rooms such as bathrooms as they provide extra heat.

Lighting – more is not always better.  Consider how you will use the space & what is required for the day-to-day activities.  Flourescent lamps are very popular as they use 25 to 35 percent less energy than incandescent & provide the same amount of illumination while lasting 10 times longer.  There’s also an increasing interest in LEDs.  Whatever your option, make sure you get all the information from your lighting supplier/installer to make an informed decision.

For a free PDF copy of Klondike’s Pros & Cons of Permitting please click here.

As the majority of our project managers are women, we are proud and excited that there is finally some recognition for women in construction.

Programs like the Vermilion/YWCA Skills Training Centre, which offers training to women in the basics of carpentry, dry walling, pianting & tiling, are making construction jobs more accessible to women.  Although they do not completely eliminate stereotypes and negativity towards women in construction, they do allow them to prove that women are more than capable in this environment.  Kathleen Greenan, carpenter, says “A woman will always have to prove herself on every job.  If you move to anothe rjob with a different crew, you will have to prove yourself again, whereas with a guy he just kind of carries it in his back pocket.”

We believe that everyone should have a chance to prove themselves and are pleased to learn about the Vermilion/YWCA, which is giving women the chance to do just that.  For more on this, please read the Vancouver Sun article by clicking on: Article.

The city met on June 16th to review their report on Implementing Laneway Housing in RS-1 & RS-5 Single Family Areas.  To view the video clip of the meeting please click here.

• GVRD Incentives–A useful list of GVRD Financial Incentives on their BuildSmart site
• EcoEnergy Grants for Residential Property Owners–Government grants for improving the energy efficiency of your home.
  
• LiveSmartBC Energuide Incentive Program–The province of BC will be offering an incentive of $150 towards having an initial D evaluation completed on your home as part of their new LiveSmart program. The incentive will be tied into the current federal ecoENERGY program to encourage home owners to reduce their energy consumption.
• CMHC Mortgage Loan Insurance–A 10% CMHC mortgage loan insurance premium refund may be available when you use CMHC insured financing to purchase an energy-efficient home or make energy-saving renovations.
• BC Hydro Fridge Buy-Back Program–BC Hydro will pickup and recycle your old, inefficient second fridge and give you $30 for it
• Vancity Bright Ideas Loan–Grants range from $3,500-$20,000 at a reduced rate of interest. To qualify, you need to make renovations recommended by an EnerGuide for Houses evaluation of your home.
• Vancity/Real Estate Foundation Green Building Grant–Each year, the program provides one or more grants up to $50,000 each to qualified recipients. Total annual grants are a minimum of $100,000. Applications are accepted from charitable organizations, not-for-profit organizations or co-operatives
• VanCity Cashback–The VanCity credit union provides a cash reward of $170 for energy efficient home renovations recommended by an EnerGuide for Houses evaluation. The renovations must achieve at least a five-point improvement in the EnerGuide for Houses rating. The $170 value is intended to cover the cost of the EnerGuide for Houses evaluation; your renovation must cost $3,500 or above.
• RBC Homeline Plan®–RBC has a green home renovation program offering: a $300 rebate for all new RBC Homeline Plan® clients towards a home energy audit, a chance to win $25,000 towards a home retrofit project, and educational tools to help customers better understand the financial and environmental benefits of an energy retrofit (provided in partnership with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation)

For more information please visit www.ccdc.org.

HomeSpa, Vancouver’s healthy & eco-friendly home advisory service, is provide by Light House Sustainable Building Centre.  These services range from an initial assessment of your home to a comprehensive prescription for the most ambitious renovation.  Regardless of the size of your home, their team will provide you with a customized report with practical tips and resources that will ensure your home is a healthy space for you & yours while respecting the health of our planet.  These services can vary but they start at $200 for the HomeSpa Checkup which covers:

• Energy efficiency evaluation
• Water efficiency – inside & outside the home
• Waste reduction – from purchasing to recycling & disposal
• Environmentally-friendly cleaning products

Wheatboard is made from lightweight, high-strength agricultural fiber.  This product is sustainable because it uses only rapidly renewable agricultural fiber from Mid-western farms, helping to protect the forestlands.

The availability of wheatboard in North America has increased rapidly and is used more and more in the display & design industry.

It is made of recycled wheat chaff, with an alternative isocyanate (MDI) biner that uses no formaldehyde, creating and emission-free board.  It is above industry standards for the highest grade of particle board.

Some advantages to consider:

• More moisture resistant
• Superior screw & nail retention
• Ideal for paints & laminates
• Superior strength & stiffness
• 10% lighter than other particle board brands
• Formaldehyde & emission free

The cost of dumping small loads of garbage at Metro Vancouver transfer stations is going to triple by summer, while tipping fees for larger loads will remain at $71 a tonne.  Due to fewer housing starts, waste generation by the construction industry has been significantly reduced.  Although we have no reason to believe tipping fees will increase in the near future, it is important for Metro Vancouver to know that raising fees will likely result in the proliferation of “midnight haulers,” who illegally dump their garbage along roadsides and private property.  When Toronto hiked tipping fees, business owners paid thousands of dollars to dispose of garbage dumped on their properties in the middle of the night.

For more information on current rates, prohibited/acceptable items, transfer stations map please visit Vancouver Landfill

For any renovation you are planning to do, regardless of the size of your project, always check with your city first and foremost if a permit is required.  This process should not be bypassed if you wish to prevent a stop work order.  Renovations are stressful enough so do your work in advance so you don’t waste money and time.

Plans are required at the time you apply for your permit.  Most cases call for two sets of floor plans to show the layout of the floor where the work will be done.  These plans do not need to be prepared by a professional, but they must be drawn to scale with location & dimensions of all applicable changes.

If your project is a bit more complicated, for example, if it requires structural and/or mechanical changes, then further plans (in this case a professional is recommended) is required.

Don’t make the mistake of drawing your plans in pencil; they will not be accepted.

If you are applying for a Secondary Suite, the city has made this a bit easier for homeowners with an initial special inspection of the building.  Then you will be provided with a report on recommended and mandatory upgrades.  The special inspection will focus only on the suite in question however, any hazards throughout the building that are identified during the inspection, must be corrected whether or not a suite is retained or installed.

Parking
• Houses built before March 23, 2004 – one on-site parking space will be accepted.
• Houses built after March 23, 2004 – require two on-site parking spaces (one for the primary dwelling unit and one for the secondary suite).
• A parking space is 8′ x 18′. In some cases, a site peculiarity may allow a relaxation.
• A durable surface is required for parking spaces.

Ceiling Height
A minimum existing ceiling height of 6′ 6″ is required over 80% of the suite area and all exit routes. If the house is raised or the basement lowered to provide more ceiling height, full ceiling height of 2.3 m (7′ 7″) is required.

Fire Separation
• Existing lath and plaster in good condition, or minimum ½ inch gypsum wallboard is required on walls and/or ceilings between the primary dwelling unit and the secondary suite.
• Self-closing devices are also required on any inter-connecting doors between units.
• For more information on Building By-law requirements to convert an existing one-family dwelling to include a secondary suite, please refer to the Building Bulletin ( PDF, 98KB).

Electrical
• For sprinklered buildings, interconnected smoke alarms, installed with a permanent connection to an electrical circuit, are required outside every bedroom, and at least one smoke alarm on every storey.
• For unsprinklered suites, in addition to the above requirements for smoke alarms, these smoke alarms must be equipped with battery backup and manual silencing devices which will silence the alarm for a period of 10 minutes, after which the alarm will continue to function.
• The proper number of receptacles/appliance circuits will be required in the suite.
• The main electrical service must be sized to accommodate all electrical loads (e.g., usually two electric ranges and two electric dryers will require a minimum 100 amp service).
• For further information refer to Electrical Requirements – Q&A’s

Plumbing & Gas
• Existing plumbing and gas fixtures must be properly installed with approved traps and vents.
• Furnace and hot water tank vents require proper clearance from combustible materials.
• Gas appliances must be installed in a safe and approved manner.

We do not recommend bypassing the permitting phase in any instance.  You will only create more problems for yourself.  The permitting process ensures that everything in your home is built to code and is safe & sound.  This is important for resale as well because if you cannot show what has been done & whether or not it was done properly, you will only raise further questions with potential buyers.  For more information please visit the City of Vancouver website by clicking here.

For a quick overview of the keys to a successful design build renovation please view our video.

We hope this video will answer some of our clients’ questions regarding this topic.  For more clarity, please also visit www.bclaws.ca and CMHC’s website.

The 16th annual Parade of Renovated Homes – with the most participating homes ever – showcases leading-edge design, advanced construction techniques, and innovative building products.

Projects include a complete transformation of a Mission rancher, restoration of a 1906 Kitsilano craftsman-style bungalow, and extreme facelifts of homes built in the ’20s right up to the ’80s.

GVHBA Renovation Council Chair Daine Halley says B.C. homeowners will spend a record $7 billion sprucing up their homes this year, and this popular one-day event offers exceptional sample renovations.

“Professional renovators, many of them award winners, will be on site to offer expert advice and discuss their craftsmanship. Projects range from $70,000 to more than $700,000, offering people an abundance of ideas they can possibly incorporate into their own renovations,” says Halley.

Admission is by passport, available at each home for $10 per person. Children 17 and under are free. Passports can be purchased at any home, and then used for entry to the remaining 16 homes. Part proceeds will help fund the purchase of tools, building materials and safety gear for a carpentry training program offered by Guildford Park and Frank Hurt secondary schools in Surrey.

The event is limited to six hours, so visit www.gvhba.org to review the selection of homes, then plan your route to ensure you have sufficient time to visit specific homes that capture your interest.

Good home design begins with an understanding of how people live in their homes. Regardless of your needs many new home builders are offering plans and designs that meet the needs of today’s consumers, using modern technology to build homes that are attractive, highly functional and feel good to live in.

These days, you can easily find many choices in style and layout to suit your personal preferences and budgets. Often, a builder’s standard designs are just a starting point. Many builders will customize a home to suit your individual needs. Do your research before you finalize your decision as any changes later one will affect budget & schedule. Here are some of the design characteristics that you can expect to find in a brand new home:

Efficient Use Of Space – A well-designed space will take full advantage of the available square footage. With the right design, every home, large or small, can be spacious & comfortable.

Open Layouts – A large open space aka. great room – informal space for living, working, eating and relaxing. Partial walls, bulkheads, lighting & floor treatment help to define and add character to individual areas within this space. Depending on the size of the home, the great room may replace or complement formal living & dining rooms.

Flexible Space – To accommodate changing household needs over time. A den can become an extra bedroom or a nursery. Basement rooms can be converted to a home office or a family entertainment area.

Built In Convenience - Look for direct access from the garage to the kitchen on hard surface flooring, mudrooms with large closets and a ground or second floor laundry room. And check for details like extra large pantries, lots of storage space & built in recycling bins.

Kitchens That Have It All – With today’s open layouts, the quality and the finishing details of a new kitchen are done with careful attention to matching or complementing the surrounding spaces. Look for well appointed, organized workspaces; attractive, separate eating areas; and great natural and built in lighting.

Again, do your research.  Visit model homes or the Parade of Homes this June 14, 2009 to narrow your preferences.  For more on this please visit the GVHBA Website.

Icynene manufactures its products with three objectives in mind – to create Healthier, Quieter, More Energy Efficient® indoor environments. Icynene’s products are suitable for steel- or wood- framed residential or commercial construction. Every Icynene product is created so that trade professionals and homeowners can reap the benefits of a comfortable, energy efficient and healthier indoor environment.  And for a more eco-conscious option, Icynene offers ICYNENE LD-R-50™ – an environmentally preferable, renewable-based spray foam insulation and air barrier material.

Icynene’s array of insulation products are designed to let you have greater control over the indoor environment. Each product is tailored to accommodate different project sizes and types, yet they all have one attribute in common — they perform as a continuous insulation and air barrier material. Whether your project calls for ICYNENE LD-C-50™ (spray or pour formula), ICYNENE LD-R-50™ renewable-based spray foam or GOLD SEAL 400®, you can create an energy-efficient, comfortable environment… with air that is healthier to breathe. Icynene’s insulation and air-sealing products provide a protective barrier to the entry of outdoor allergens and pollutants.

To learn more about the product visit icynene.com

You can find this article in the May/June edition of the Home Builder Magazine.  Learn about the importance of having proper house plans by watching our video on “The 4 Ps to a Successful Design Build Process”.