Asphalt Shingles

Advantages: Inexpensive; ranges from low-cost 3-tab shingle to architectural shingles with extra durability & style; wide selection of colours, types & manufacturers; suitable for most residential applications; easy to repair; fire resistant

Disadvantages:  Short life-span (15-30 yrs); scars easily when hot; subject to mildew & moss; environmentally unfriendly

Wood Shingles/Shakes

Advantages:  Natural look weathering to a soft grey; offers some insulation value; blends with the environment; easy to repair/replace; long lasting with maintenance (30-50 yrs)

Disadvantages:  Expensive; typically requires professional installation; high maintenance; tends to rot, split, mold, & mildew; poor fire rating unless pressure treated

Metal (Steel, Aluminum, Tin, Copper)

Advantages:  Available in different looks including cedar shingles, slate or standing seam; many colours; light weight; durable; long life span (at least 50 yrs); low maintenance; can be installed over existing roofs; performs well in high wind, hail & rain; environmentally friendly

Disadvantages:  Difficult to install; can be expensive; may require periodic painting

Tile (Concrete, Clay)

Advantages:  Non-combustible; many colours & styles; attractive; fireproof; easy to maintain; extremely durable when maintained

Disadvantages:  Expensive; heavy; used primarily in new buildings because of wight & structural requirements; installation & repairs can be tricky; fragile

Slate

Advantages:  Beautiful & distinctive appearance; fireproof; long life span; low maintenance

Disadvantages:  Very expensive; requires specialized installation; heavy; fragile; high maintenance

This list was provided by 2009 National Dream Home Designers Robert Sennett & Darren Sanger-Smith

1.  Metal Roofs – They are environmentally friendly, clean & gives your old roof a new/different look, whether as an accent or whole roof.

2.  Dark Trim Colours – Gives a punch to the facade of our home.  It allows the house to blend with the landscaping, picture frames opnenings & highlights glazing shapes as proportional architectural features.

3.  Front Porches – Adds connectivity to the home & offers a sense of community when used as an outdoors space for gatherings & parties.

4.  Indoor/Outdoor Landscaping – Incorporates organic details that reflect the architecture.

5.  Brick – Gives real depth to the character of the home.

6.  Stucco as an Accent

7.  Green Design – Everyone is talking green these days.  Whether your contribution is minor updates or a complete reno, be aware and consider options to green your home.

8.  Ceilings – It’s just as important as the floor and the right ceiling can create a sense of volume change and an emotional within any given space that would otherwise be lost.

9.  Water Features – An interior water feature can add to the space as a beautiful piece of artwork with a calming sound that can enhance any space.

10.  Sound/Music/Media – The sky’s the limit with this one.  Think carefully about what you need/want.  Combining technology with a well thought out wall unit or room layout can only enhance the space.

An article by Fiona Anderson in the Vancouver Sun’s Business section reports the following organizations are throwing their support behind the harmonized sales tax (HST):

• BC Chamber of Commerce
• BC Construction Association
• BC Road Builders & Heavy Construction Association
• Business Council of BC
• Coast Forest Products Association
• Council of Forest Industries
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC
• Mining Association of BC
• Motion Picture Production Industry Association of BC
• New Car Dealers Association of BC
• Retail Council of Canada
• Telus

We would like to know how you feel about HST.  Send us a comment!  Also, we will be revealing our HST plan for homeowners who will be renovating with us in the next year with renovation end dates past July 1, 2010.  Stay tuned!

One of the challenges of outdoor painting is the wide range of surfaces and materials you need to consider in your selection of paint.  From aluminum siding, wood shingles, cedar shakes, brick, concrete, stucco, and existing old paint, conditions vary and without the proper product to suit each different surface, you may end up redoing the entire job.  We do not want this to happen as exterior paints are more expensive than interior paints and on top of that you also have to factor in weather conditions, work conditions.  Your budget can easily get out of control if proper planning was not done.  To help you with this process, we recommend you consider the following tips.  If anything is unclear, do not hesitate to contact us for clarification.

1. Consider using the same type of paint you used before (especially if you can see that it has performed well over the years).  Similar to interior paints, latex works best over latex and alkyd works best over alkyd.  If you are not sure what type of paint is on the house, use an alkyd-base paint.
2. Latex paints dry quickly & are easier to apply.  They also breathe well which means moisture problems will be kept to a minimum.  However, they do not adhere to oilbase or alkyd-base paints, or poorly prepared surfaces as well.
3. Alkyds are very durable but difficul to work with and they dry slowly.  Further to clean alkyd paints off brushes, rollers, paint trays, ect. you have to use solvents.
4. Prepare surface so you have a clean and dry base.
5. PRIME – this plays a critical role in interior and exterior painting.  An alkyd or latex-based primer is recommended for solid wood, shingles, exterior house walls, doors, windows, trim fences, etc.  Latex primer is recommended for hardboard siding and patios as it prevents superficial splitting & cracking of plywood.

For information on how to prevent or fix common paint problems read our post on it.

As the Laneway Housing project is a new initiative in Vancouver, it is helpful to follow a set of guidelines to ensure the planning and building of your laneway home goes smoothly.  This guide provided by the City of Vancouver ensures quality and durability.  To view a detailed guide, click here.  For illustrative examples to accompany the regulations & guidelines, please click here.

Plumbing is a major part of many renovation projects.  Whether you are installing a sink or updating/adding a bathroom or kitchen, plumbing must be considered.  It doesn’t not matter if you are doing the work yourself or hiring a contractor, you will need to make decisions on the types of pipes you want to use.  There are many types of types and some are more appropriate for certain jobs than others.  To help you with your decisions, here’s a rundown of the main types that are used in residential projects.

PLASTIC PIPES

• PVC – (Polyvinyl Chloride) can be used only for cold water.
• ABS – (Acrylonitrite-butadiene-styrene) is used for waste removal, drain and venting, primarily in bathrooms.  It is a rigid plastic pipe that can be connected to several kinds of metal pipes.  If you are considering this, check with your contractor or local building codes as it is not permitted in some areas.
• PEX – can be used to carry both hot & cold water. It is often used for interior water pipes in residential plumbing.
• CPVC – (Chlorine-polyvinyl-chloride) is generally used to carry hot water and often used as a substitute for copper pipe.

BC Home Magazine (BCH) published an article on net-zero energy homes in their June 2009 issue.  It was an interview with architect Chris Mattock, who’s company (Habitat Design & Consulting) partnered with CMHC to bring net-zero energy homes to BC.  Klondike Contracting supports every effort to green the environment so we wanted to share bits of this article with you in case you missed it:

BCH: What does net-zero energy mean?
MATTOCK: Net-zero energy means that annually a home produces as much engergy as it consumes – all energy that’s required is generated within the home.  Net-zero carbon emissions means that you’re not burning fossil fuel or wood to live in an operate the home.

BCH: What is Harmony House?
MATTOCK: It will be a home in Burnaby, one of 12 zero-energy houses across Canada that CMHC has sponsored as part of its goal to have all houses build with this standar by year 2030.  I organized a team of solar, water and indoor air quality, and construction experts to qualify for CMHC’s extensive technical requirements.

BCH: Will the house feature modern conveniences?
MATTOCK: It will function like any other house, with all of the most energy-efficient appliances, except instead of using a clothes dryer, which consumes a lot of electricity, it will have a drying closet, which is heated by solar thermal system…We will use daylight as much as possible (for lighting), which affects placement and height of windows and skylights.  Indoor electric lighting will be laid out so that it complements natural daylight, with switches that automatically turn lights off when daylight is sufficient inside.  Occupancy sensors will turn lights off when someone leaves a room.

BCH: What about insulation & windows?
MATTOCK: The building will be so well insulated that it needs only 20% of the heating requirements of a conventional house.  It has a foot of insulation in walls using cellulose fibre made locally from post-consumer recycled newspapers, with 18″ of roof insulation.

There will be airtight wall, ceiling & floor barriers to reduce heat loss.  It will have better indoor air quality than a conventional house because a ventilation system in every room will continuously take out stale air and bring in fresh outdoor air, filtering particles of pollen and pollution.  Hot air escaping from laundry, bathrooms and kitchen will go through a hea recovery system, and 80% of this heat will go back into the homes’ heating. (Windows) will all be triple-glazed with two metal low-E coatings.  They will have an R-6 insulation value whereas typical windows are R-2.

BCH: How are you using solar energy?
MATTOCK: Solar thermal collectors use the sun to heat water in a tank all year round for all electrical heating and hot water.  Photovoltaic cells on the roof that convert sunlight into electricity will power appliances.

- Carol Crenna

(For more of this article please acquire a copy of BC Home June 2009)

Have you ever had to wait to take a bath because your dishwasher is running? Have you been blasted with scalding water when someone else in the house flushes the toilet while you were in the shower? Are you concerned about running of clean, fresh water? Do you want to do your part in reducing water consumption? Klondike certainly does!

If your water heater is more than 10 years old, consider replacing it before it starts leaking water due to corrosion and causing further damage to your home.

Tankless water heaters are great for new & older homes. It only heats water when needed, using a device that is activated by the flow of water when a hot water valve is opened. By delivering a constant supply of hot water, tankless water heaters can meet all your household hot water needs. It can also be used for supplementary heat, such as a booster to a solar hot water system.

Tankless water heaters are much more compact in size so it will save you some space. The size of course depends on the number of bathrooms in your house & how much hot water you will require at peak hours. However, the most important benefit is that it can shave ten to twenty percent off your heating bill by eliminating energy lost from warmed water sitting in a tank. Not only are you conserving water but energy as well. Further, they produce as little as half the greenhouse gas emissions of less efficient storage tank heaters. An interesting thought: if we all used tankless water heaters, we could keep 91 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year.

Lets do our part to keep our planet clean & green!

All interior paint problems are correctable but you need to identify what the problem is.  The following are three common problems we have seen and solutions for each one:

Blistering

Image provided by The Rohm & Hass Paint Quality Institute Via Benjamin Moore

Bubbles sometimes form on the paint film that look like blisters.  These result from the localized loss of adhesion and lifting of the paint film from the underlying surface.  Blistering is often caused by applying oil-based or alkyd paint over a damp or wet surface.  Moisture entering home through exterior walls also causes blistering, though this is less likelywith latex paint.  Latex paint that is exposed to high humidity or moisture shortly after paint has dried, especially if there was inadequate surface preparation, may also be susceptible to blistering.

If the blisters do not go all the way down to the substrate, remove them by scraping and sanding.  Then, repaint with a quality acrylic latex interior paint.  If the blisters go down to the substrate, you will need to remove the source of moisture.  Repaire loose caulking and consider installing/replacing vens or exhaust fans.  Remove blisters then apply primer & topcoat.

Lap Marks

Lap marks are the appearance of a denser colour or an increased gloss where wet & dry layers overlap during paint application.  These will occur if you do not maintain a “wet-edge” when applying pain or using low-solid, “economy” paint.

Image provided by The Rohm & Hass Paint Quality Institute via Benjamin Moore

To prevent these, make sure you maintain a wet edge when applying paint toward the unpainted area and then back into the just-painted surface.  By brushing or rolling from wet to dry you will acheive a smooth, uniform appearance.

Mildew

These appear on he surface of paint or caulk as black, gray, or brown spots/areas.  They tend to form in areas that are often damp or in areas that receive little or no direct sunlight.

If you think you have mildew, first test it by applying a few drops of household bleach to the area.  If it bleaches away, they they are probably mildew.  Remove them by scrubbing with a diluted household bleach solution (one part bleach, three parts water), then rinse.

Image provided by The Rohm & Hass Paint Quality Institute via Benjamin Moore

To prevent mildew, use a top-quality latex paint, and clean when necessary with bleach/detergent solution.  Also, consider installing or replacing your exhaust fans in high-moisture areas.

For more information, please visit a local Benjamin Moore store.

While we were all vacationing or working away to pump some life into our economy, it seems the Liberal government also kept themselves quite busy this summer!

On July 23, the federal & provincial finance ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).  They teeter-tottered on the idea at first but with a $1.6 billion offer from the Federal government to board ship it was too tempting to turn away.  Without any consultation, they announced the switch to HST to the public stating that “The provincial sales tax is an outdated, inefficient and costly tax, some of which is hidden in the price of goods and services and passed on to and paid by consumers.”

How will this affect you as a homeowner with plans to renovate or build?  Add an extra 7% to your total construction cost.  Will this thwart your plans to update your home?

Considering that housing starts for January-June of this year is down 67% from the same period in 2008, we are very concerned that the new HST will only make it even more difficult to bring this number up.

The Canadian Home Builder’s Association asked the premier & finance minister if they would work with the home building industry to ensure tax neutrality, so that home buyers do not pay anymore than they already do and the response was, “There is no promise for neutrality.”

Another concern is how HST will be applied to sales contracts signed before July 1, 2010 but completed after the HST launch date?  For some builders who do extensive luxury home building, some projects take as long as two years to complete.

Peter Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of the GVHBA, also noted in his column for The Sun brings up another issue:  underground economy in home renovation.  Cash deals, no contracts, no permits/inspections, no adherance to BC Building Codes, insurance or WorkSafeBC compliance.

Let us know how you feel about this new policy & what you will do about it by commenting on this blog.

As there will be numerous petitions against this, we will keep you updated with any changes.  Stay tuned!

We are all very excited about the COV’s decision to approve Laneway Housing.  Now that you have had the chance to digest the news, it’s time to get serious.  Many homeowners already have plans in the works for permitting so better get to it if you plan on doing anything.  To help you get started, here’s a checklist of required items by Development Services department at COV for permit applications to construct a laneway house.  To view the list click here: COV-Construction of a Laneway House.

To avoid common air quality problems within your home, just follow these simple steps:

1. Select certified ventilation products to ensure airflow, sound and energy performance expectations are met or exceeded.
2. Operate the bathroom exhaust fan when bathing and showering to imit moisture buildup.  Operate your fan for 10-60 minutes after you finish your bath or shower to remove most of the moisture.
3. Turn on range hood fans when cooking to expel moisture, odors and contaminants released while cooking.
4. Increase ventilation rates during family gatherings and parties.  Use of intermittent or “spot ventilation will help keep the air fresh, even during periods of increasesd activity in the home.
5. Ensure that continuous ventilation is provided in addition to intermittent ventilation systems.  The entire house needs continuous ventilation to see that general air quality is maintained in all areas.
6. Ensure that clothes dryers are exhausted directly to the outside, and make sure that filters and hoods are cleaned regularly to maintain maximum airflow.
7. Plan routine seasonal maintenance for heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment to ensure all systems are working properly and performing as intended.
8. Change filters as instructed.  Inspect, clean or replace furnace ventilation system filters according to manufacturer’s recommendations.  Consider installing high-efficiency particulate filters for better performance.
9. Clean your home regularly to prevent dust, dirt and pet hair buildup.  Dust & dirt particles can become airborne, adding to the contaminants in the air.
10. Use products that emit the lowest levels of chemicals.  Many cleaning products can release toxic or irritating chemicals when used.  New or recently installed building materials and furnishings can also emit significant harmful contaminants.