The Hammer

After decades in the commercial facade business building whole sections of skyscrapers in factories before shipping them to jobsites, Antonio Manchisi of Sapphire Balconies knows a thing or two about prefabricating construction components. He joins The Hammer to talk about how offsite and modular building are the norm in other parts of the world; how they can save costs, improve quality, efficiency and safety; and where they might not work best in residential renovation and custom building. In an environment where we're all looking to get more done faster with less skilled labour, Manchisi brings some hearty food for thought on how we structure our project process.

Paul Amato of Tallinn Advisory brings 20 years' of professional experience advising construction companies to the question of how to get the different parts of your organization working better together. He joins The Hammer to talk about what he means by “alignment”; the elements of a good mindset; the barriers to great customer service and quality; and how to build a culture that succeeds. Take some time with Paul to think about how you do business!

Contractors work in a high-stress jobs for sure, where frustration, time pressure, conflict and long hours can grind us down. We view workplace stress as part of the lifestyle, but Sandra Primiano from online mental health services provider, Dialogue, says it has very real and measurable effects on productivity and quality. Those effects can include workplace accidents and addiction problems, so it's something we need to pay attention to. Primiano joins The Hammer to explain how job stress leads to decreased performance; what signs might point to a co-worker who is struggling; and some practical tips for mitigating issues when they arise.

Skylights are a feature that transform an interior space when done right and risk a lifetime of headaches when done wrong. Modern designs have come a long way from the old plexiglass domes and now offer great energy efficiency, smart home options and the ability to improve the environment throughout a home. Mark Taylor, national Canadian sales manager for Velux and 27-year veteran of the business, joins The Hammer to share tips on how to do skylights right and really boost the impact of your renovations and custom builds.

Amanda Spann is the author of I Have an App Idea - The Essential Guide to Building an App Without Tech Skills and she has good news for all of us. You don't need to spend in the five figures or burn hundreds of hours of staff time to develop an app any more, thanks to new AI-powered tools and reasonably priced professional services. The even better news is, as experts in touch with the needs of their businesses, building trades professionals are in a position to make more useful and targeted apps than anything coming out of Silicone Valley. Whether developing something to help your team internally or making a product you hope to post on the App Store, there's an opportunity here to help your efficiency and potentially add a revenue stream to your business.

Embodied carbon and an increased focus on building resiliency are coming soon to a building code near you. When they do, we're going to need a lot of information about the amount of greenhouse gasses embodied in our building products and how to build structures that will last longer in the extreme weather events happening in the regions where we build. Kelly Doran and his team at Half Climate Design have stepped up with two new documents that are included in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Housing Catalogue: the Materials Guide and the Climate Resilience Guide. Doran joins The Hammer to walk us through the new documents and explain how they will help as we make the adjustment to thinking about things we never had to before.Materials GuideClimate Resilience GuideHalf Climate Design

Building resiliency is the hot focus for sustainable building regulators developing the next wave of codes and standards we will all have to follow. Resiliency impacts our designs two ways: making buildings last longer with less maintenance, and making them resist extreme weather and natural disasters better. Both are related to climate change in that buildings that last longer prevent new carbon emissions from having to repair or replace them, and climate change is already leading to weather changes that our present designs are not ready for. Duncan Rowe, a principal with RJC Engineers, deals with these issues daily both as a building engineer and in his role sitting on various code committees. He joins The Hammer to discuss resiliency and how it might impact our designs and practices going forward.

Bryan Reid, president of Kindred Construction and Kindred Custom Homes, joins The Hammer to discuss B.C.’s latest attempts to make it easier to build homes. He covers the recent prompt payment legislation and a large attempt to streamline B.C.’s approval processes with 187 amendments to legislation. He also offers his perspective on whether these moves will make life easier for B.C. contractors and the sources of the housing crisis in general. Reid has a law degree and knows his stuff, so enjoy this informative conversation.

Growing concern over building emissions and occupant health has led experts to re-evaluate how we insulate and protect our homes. Spray foam insulation, once valued mainly for its high R-value, is now at the center of discussions about sustainability, environmental impact, and indoor air quality. How does spray foam contribute to lower carbon footprints? What innovations are shaping the next generation of energy-efficient and healthy homes? And how can builders balance performance, cost, and environmental responsibility? Mickel Maalouf, Building Science Expert at Huntsman Building Solutions, joins The Hammer to unpack the science and future of spray foam in sustainable construction.

In an business where trust is perhaps our most valuable commodity, the ongoing presence of dishonest contractors and outright fraudsters hurts us all. Alex Kimmich left the tools to do something about it, establishing the BetterBid online service that connects homeowners to a vetted list of reputable local contractors. He joins The Hammer to discuss the scale of the scamming problem in Canada today and go over some of the creative new methods these criminals are employing.

Toronto construction software developer CMiC has commissioned a study examining uptake in Enterprise Resource Planning software in the American construction industry and come away with many insights relevant to our market, too. Weiss has been working with contractors to provide digital solutions since the early ‘90s and has lots to say about how the tools and interfaces have changed between then and now and why smaller contractors should be taking another look at how things like AI can help them. Plus some hard truths about why our industry has been slower to adopt the productivity-enhancing technologies that have boosted other sectors.Read the full study here

As new custom homebuilders working in the Toronto area, Joshua and his partner, Alvaro, were getting more and calls to build outbuildings on existing residential yards, home additions to add space for family and rentals, and fully separated basement living space – so-called Alternative Dwelling Units. The work has proven to be lucrative and relatively uncomplicated, with municipalities speeding up approvals even over Josh’s five years in business, so the partners have decided to make it a focus of their business. Josh joined The Hammer to talk about his journey to his point and share some tips and observations on the emerging ADU trend.

As executive director of Career Colleges of Ontario, Kate Bartz wants us to know that career colleges play a vital role in providing the skilled workforce of the future and will be an important part of the province’s mighty effort to build hundreds of thousands of homes in the years ahead. She spoke to Pat Flannery about what career colleges have to offer and how she hopes to partner with the province and our sector going forward.

Achieving good indoor air quality for our clients is something we probably need to think about more than they do. A homeowner may not give the topic a second thought…until their throat starts scratching and their nose starts itching from a poorly designed HVAC system. Mohamed Fouda sits on ASHRAE committees writing indoor air quality standards and joins The Hammer to advise us on how to protect homeowners’ health and happiness even as building envelopes get tighter.For more information, contact Mohamed at [email protected].

Silica is one of the most common hazards at construction sites. Workers exposed to airborne respirable silica are at an increased risk of developing lung diseases like silicosis, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Meghan Friesen, Occupational Hygienist with the Ontario Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, discusses the hazards and health effects of silica, exposures in the construction industry, and the free online Silica Control Tool. 

High-profile wildfires doing substantial property damage to urban areas in B.C. and Alberta have spurred NRCan to look at creating Canadian building standards for wildfire resistance. The consultation process has just begun, but it seems likely that some day soon we may see new codes requiring resistant windows, doors and other components in wildfire-prone areas. What might these rules look like? How do we determine if a product is sufficiently resistant to external fires? And what is the science behind making frames and glass that resists fire and prevents heat transfer to the home interior? Robin Urquhart has worked on rebuilding communities destroyed by wildfires and joins The Hammer to share his deep knowledge of this topic.

The difficulty, expense and delay in getting projects approved has been identified as one of the big reasons Ontario is nowhere near its homebuilding goals and not likely to be any time soon. Enter Arash Shahi and his non-profit One Ontario initiative to offer a database of municipal zoning bylaws and regulations that shows where building can happen and whether your project qualifies. One Ontario has the data and the software tools – what it needs now is provincial backing to legitimize regional planning authorities using it. Shahi explains what One Ontario is, what information it can provide and how it could be part of the path forward to getting this province out of its homebuilding logjam.

Gil Yaron of Light House is spearheading the launch of the Building Materials Exchange on Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland, B.C., with plans to expand. It’s a website where members can post excess materials from inventory or jobsites and offer them for sale or free to whomever wants them. The important wrinkle is the business-to-business nature of the site, allowing contractors to deal with other contractors and not so much the general public. There are the obvious environmental benefits of reducing waste, but avoiding charges at the landfill and being able to find free or inexpensive materials is a pretty attractive business proposition, too.

Canada, and especially Ontario, faces a housing crisis in which we are building less than half the new homes each year we are expected to need. But even so, housing starts dropped in Ontario in 2024. Radical action is clearly needed, and RESCON CEO Richard Lyall has some ideas. He joins The Hammer for some tough talk about the need for big cuts to development fees and taxes; new investment in infrastructure; harmonization of codes and standards; slashing of red tape in approvals process; the need to fight U.S. tariffs and more.

Jared Kress of Metropolitan Floors and Chris Maskell of the National Floor Covering Association of Canada join The Hammer to set us straight on the impact insulation class (IIC) for flooring. This is the number that tells us how much a flooring product prevents sound transmission to the space below from footsteps. Some condo boards and architects are specifying crazy numbers for these ratings, but what you get in a lab is often not what you get in the field. Kress and Maskell take us through how the rating is calculated, what impacts the actual performance in your project and what you need to tell clients who think your floor can be made absolutely silent.

Steve Johnston of Omnigence, a private equity firm investing in the construction sector, has a stark warning. He sees a real risk of long-term stagflation (inflation coupled with low productivity and high unemployment) in our present conditions and government policies. His white paper lays out the broad details, but he joins The Hammer to talk about the specific effects in Canada’s homebuilding sector and what will be needed to avoid them.

Movember is back with an added focus. The popular fundraising drive for men’s health has added support for mental health to its efforts along with prostate and testicular cancer. Mitch Hermansen joined Annex Business Media publisher/editor, Patrick Flannery, to talk about why these issues are important and what we in the construction community can do to help the guys who work for us.When you’re done, check out Movember’s hilarious video Shit Mos Save Lives!

We had a great conversation with Damon Gray, owner of B.C.’s NZ Builders, about their innovative insulated concrete panels and some of the great things they can achieve with them. NZ is making high-performance homes, even Passive House homes, on Vancouver Island out of concrete and finding the material generates a more comfortable and healthy environment for their customers.

Espisito and Koblik, the husband and wife owners of Otis Interiors in Guelph, Ont., have discovered a better way of doing business. They leverage their creative and operational expertise with a careful design plan including intensive homeowner consultation, milestones, acquisition of all permits and drawings and a payment and procurement schedule to achieve a high level of preparation before anyone swings a hammer. The process could take as long as a year, but the result is happier clients, a smoother and more profitable process for the organization and higher quality results. Listen to them talk about their professional approach and how others might join the party.

New standards for energy efficiency and low carbon impact in construction are demanding new skills in the trades – skills your young workers might be more familiar with than you are. Chad Flinn, associate vice-president of academics at Red Deer Polytechnic, and Judi Varga-Toth, manager of the ImpAct-Climate program at Colleges and Institutes Canada, are working to educate today’s construction industry in how to design and install the elements of net zero homes, including the unique considerations for heat pumps, solar panels, EV chargers, continuous insulation and high-performance fenestration. Learning needs to be ongoing in this time of rapid change, and Flinn and Varga-Toth share insights and free online resources in this episode of The Hammer.

Ceiling systems have come a long way from basic white grids and tiles. No longer flat and forgettable, modern ceiling designs enhance aesthetics and can impact health and safety concerns. These days, many integrated ceiling solutions are also manufactured with sustainable and recyclable materials. Listen to our conversation with Jamie Wright - Product Specialist in Ceiling Systems at Kenroc Building Materials. His career spans 20  years in the building construction industry and he prides himself in providing innovative solutions for his customers.He joins The Hammer to share his knowledge of ceiling systems. Bottom line – things are looking up with Kenroc and CertainTeed products!For more information, visit https://kenroc.com/products/ceiling-systems

Dave Henderson, senior technical services manager for the Residential Construction Council of Ontario, is concerned about the increasing complexity of building codes. He goes over at least six major changes that are proposed for the 2025 National Building Code update, each of which will add significant costs to new homes and renovations requiring permits. He reflects on his time working on code development in Ontario and how far we have come from the 10 principles of code development they observed then. Codes used to be about ensuring minimum, enforceable standards for safety…today, it looks like they are being used as a vehicle to push various government policy agenda.

We continue our series on updates to the National Building Code with Troy Ferreira, technical director for the Canadian Roofing Contractors Association. Ferreira has been involved with commenting and proposing revisions for the 2020 NBC, which has just come into effect nationally but is still being revised. We touch on new language affecting fire protection for spray foam, open cell spray foam requirements, asphalt core boards, snow loads, air tightness, energy efficiency and other topics.

Leor Marguiles is a partner at commercial real estate firm, Robins Appleby. From there, he watches as larger developers deal with the fallout from high interest rates and skyrocketing home prices: homeowners delaying or cancelling purchases they suddenly find unaffordable. He joins The Hammer to discuss the factors driving a spike in project delays and defaults and suggest ways that small contractors can deal with the uncertain conditions. Bottom line: stay out of court.

Terry Adamson, technical director for Fenestration Canada, joins The Hammer to preview the proposed changes to the National Building Code related to window and doors. Wider door openings for accessibility…tighter air tightness…solar heat gain requirements…upper storey window fall protection…glazing guard loads…it’s all here in an information-dense download.

Explore our 2024 playbook tailored for electrical contractors seeking a competitive edge. Uncover industry-best practices and stay ahead of the curve. 

Vice-Chair Jack Slaughter of the Ontario Labour Relations Board and Jeremy Ambraska, employment and labour lawyer with Sherrard Kuzz (Coos) LLP join this episode of the Hammer to discuss the aging workforce, apprenticeships and training within the construction sector. Vice Chair Slaughter and Ambraska engage in conversation with editor, Kaitlin Secord, about mentorship and knowledge transfer, the importance of diversity and inclusion, how to the construction industry’s status among prospective journeypersons and the importance of being a progressive employer.

Facing a dynamic shift in every facet, the construction industry find itself in need of a revamping when it comes to the future of its workforce. From Support Ontario Youth, interim executive director Melanie Winter and program management lead Lea Valcourt join this episode of the Hammer to chat about their organization and its initiatives in supporting the future of construction labour. Winter and Valcourt touch on the crucial role that relationship building plays in progressing in the industry and share success stories of their boot camps. They also discuss adaptability and the key goals, priorities and future of Support Ontario Youth.

Cyber-attacks in construction are on the rise. Bad actors are finding this an attractive industry to target as they can access data and cause business interruptions, and even demand payment of a ransom. As construction companies and their construction sites become increasingly connected, any device connected to the network presents a potential cybersecurity risk, and a robust approach to reducing this exposure is essential. In this episode of the Hammer, Wayne Dorris, program manager for cyber security at Axis Communications, talks strategies for mitigating security risks on the construction site.

In the latest edition of The Hammer, we are joined by Austin Harvey, residential territory manager for ECCO Supply, to discuss heat pumps. Harvey touches on the reason behind the growing popularity of heat pumps, key considerations and factors for contractors considering heat pump installations, as well as pitfall and reluctancies. Harvey also discusses effective ways that contractors can help clients choose the best pump for their home.

There’s a lot going on in the world of green building and spray foam. Jean- François Lupien, the Global Director of Product Management from Huntsman Building Solutions joins us on The Hammer to discuss an innovation in spray foam technology as well as an update on what is going on in the industry and what Huntsman Building Solutions has been up to in 2023. Also, what contractors can expect to see in 2024 from the brand.

As labour and employment pressures build in the construction industry with impending retirements and an influx of projects, apprentices are more important now than ever. In this episode of the Hammer, we are joined by Robert Bronk, CEO of the Ontario Construction Secretariat, to discuss importance of apprenticeships to the future of Ontario’s construction industry and how the unionized sector is investing on training for apprentices. Bronk and editor Kaitlin Secord also chat about the benefits and obstacles of apprentices, and tools and resources available to both employers and apprentices.

Phil Warren, SFA Saniflo Canada’s Managing Director and Frédéric Boucher, Plomberie EPF’s President, join this special episode of The Hammer to discuss SFA Saniflo’s recent experience on their France factory tour, the company’s history, what they see for the future. Listen as Warren and Boucher chat with editor Kaitlin Secord about the company’s innovations to the plumbing world, their global presence and how they’ve grown in the Canadian market.

Liz Kovach, President of the Western Retail Lumber Association Inc., joins this special episode of The Hammer to discuss the association’s Let’s GO Build Program and their take on the recent labour market study. WRLA is a member-based organization that connects and educates the building supply industry in Western Canada to facilitate the growth of member businesses. Their Let’s Go Build program aims to enhance job opportunities and attract new talent in the lumber, building materials and hardgoods industry. Listen as Kovach and Canadian Contractor editor Kaitlin Secord discuss the future of the construction sector.

Join us in this episode as we delve into the world of door systems and explore the various options available to bridge the gap between the indoors and outdoors. Our expert guests, Russ Miller, JELD-WEN Canada's National Account Manager, and Mike Desmarais, JELD-WEN Canada's Territory Sales Manager for Ontario, will guide us through a captivating discussion on the types of exterior door systems, including the pros and cons of sliding versus swinging doors.Discover the hottest trends in door systems, and gain insights into the importance of proper installation for optimal performance and longevity. Furthermore, we'll explore the crucial aspect of security and learn how door systems can enhance the safety of your home. Whether you're a homeowner or a professional in the industry, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to upgrade their door systems and create a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. Tune in and unlock the secrets to finding the perfect door system that suits your needs, while maximizing style, functionality, and peace of mind.

In this edition of The Hammer, editor Kaitlin Secord sits down with Owen Thompson and Marilena Tricarico of Desjardin’s RenoAssistance to discuss their annual Renovation Intentions survey results and what these results can teach contractors. We also chat about strategy for navigating renovations in today’s economy and climate.

With greener homes on the rise, so is government funding for financial assistance. In this edition of the podcast, Kaitlin Secord, the new editor of Canadian Contractor is joined by Bonny Koabel of Access Rebates to discuss Enbridge’s Home Energy Rebate program, energy audits, the Greener Home Loan program, and how knowledge about these funding programs can help contractors and homeowners alike.

Mickel Maalouf of Huntsman Building Solutions joins The Hammer to discuss the crackdown on Radon in homes. As many as 3,200 Canadians die from it every year. It easily penetrates residences and enclosed spaces undetected. It’s the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Throughout Canada, there are homes with elevated levels of Radon that need to be assessed and treated. There is a cost-effective and protective solution. Huntsman Building Solutions’ CCMC compliant, HFO based closed-cell ccSPF insulation products have been tested for radon diffusion and are highly radon-resistant. When installed properly, they can protect a building from the ground up. In this podcast, we’ll address what builders and contractors need to know about Radon mitigation and the solution that will help them address the problem.

New concepts are emerging in construction contracts aimed at bringing project owners, contractors and subcontractors closer together as partners rather than bosses and hirelings. But to navigate these new structures, especially on today’s larger P3 projects, glazing contractors are going to need to be prepared for a world of enhanced transparency, data collection and communication. Michelle Throssell and Barb Hooley help contractors sail these stormy seas through international project management consultant, Turner and Townsend, and join The Hammer to explain some of the new jargon, outline the benefits of integrated project management and give us a sneak peek at what’s going to be asked of us in the years ahead.

Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) have been around for more than 40 years. Essentially used to create a sandwich of concrete between two layers of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam, the applications for ICF have continued to evolve over the years. In addition to their use for basements and foundation walls, Canadian builders are now using the technology to go up several storeys as well. To learn more about the possibilities, The Hammer staff caught up with Brian Corder, CEO and president of BuildBlock Building Systems and chair of the Marketing Committee of the Insulating Concrete Forms Manufacturers Association (ICFMA), to get him to share some great insights, and some technical details.

It’s a fond farewell to you from Patrick Flannery, editor of the Canadian Contractor B2B channels for the past 2 ½ years. But your magazine and this podcast will be in the very capable hands of Adam Freill, a veteran media professional with background in a variety of construction sectors. Freill joins The Hammer to introduce himself and talk about the role of B2B media in our businesses; the big trends he sees in the industry; and his plans for 2023 and beyond.

Whether it’s upgrades to an existing building or ensuring high-performing, durable, and passive building development projects, contractors need to consider a high-performance Air Barrier System (ABS). A strong air barrier is essential to a sustainable envelope. If fact, the building transformation required today and for future would not be complete without an Air Barrier System and its control layers contributing to a winning formula that is designed, designated, and detailed to control water, vapour, and air. The control layers of the Air Barrier System are placed throughout the building in properties such as the roof, walls, and floor, to the below-grade structures such as the foundation, slab, parking, storage, utility rooms, communication conduits, and more. In this podcast, we discuss how the Air Barrier System is a key aspect of a durable building envelope against the constant environmental stresses and the role it plays on our trajectory toward ongoing, sustainable, and impactful buildings.Maxime Duzyk is the global director of building science and engineering with Huntsman Building Solutions. He holds a background in architecture and has been in the spray foam insulation business for the last ten years. Maxime is involved with different building envelope committees and associations in North America like CSC, SFC, SPFA, CCMC and ULC Standards.

Canadian Contractor author of the Ryan Report, Steve Ryan, joins The Hammer to share his thoughts on inflation, interest rates, housing prices and labour…all the big economic topics challenging us all. Why are expectations worse than inflation itself? Why do the prices of houses go down as the prices of everything else rise? Will workers be asking for more in the months ahead? Is there a recession on the horizon? Ryan delves into all that and more from his perspective as a long-time business consultant to Canadian construction company owners.

There are more government rebate programs out there than you can shake a stick at. Luckily, Bonny Koabel of AKR Consulting has a whole basket of sticks and spends most of her time shaking them at the various government agencies so you don’t have to. Bonny joins The Hammer to discuss the $547.5 million of funding that the Government of Canada has recently announced that offers everyone from provinces to small businesses incentives for the purchase or lease of eligible vehicles. This episode of The Hammer is brought to you by Lepage – TiteFoam.

Mickel Maalouf of Huntsman Building Solutions joins The Hammer to discuss Radon abatement from the ground up. Radon, a colourless, odourless, radioactive gas, is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Heavier than air, radon can accumulate in residential basements, increasing the risk of exposure to the homeowner. Radon can infiltrate in several places, especially cracks or openings in the floor, slab, cracks in the foundation wall, or sumps. A radon barrier around the basement using Heatlok Soya HFO closed-cell spray foam can seal and prevent radon infiltration. That said, let's talk about radon, recommendations for reducing it, steps to take for building or renovating a radon-free basement, what are some of the protection requirements and the benefits of using Heatlok Soya HFO.