The Hammer

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 provinc...

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...

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 explain three national rebate programs that can give substantial money back to homeowners building custom homes and renovati...

The Ontario government has announced a string of programs and restructurings aimed at improving and promoting skilled trades training. Robert Bronk is CEO of the Ontario Construction Secretariat, an agency that acts as a forum for construction contractors and construction unions to work together. As such, he has some great perspectives on the state of skilled trades learning and the apprenticeship...

Oversized windows are becoming increasingly popular. Homeowners are looking to buy products that help achieve a unique, customized look, while offering greater access to outdoor spaces and natural light. JELD-WEN of Canada experts Rob Adams and Chantale Brosseau discuss why oversized windows became a trend; how oversized windows work with building codes and energy efficiency standards; what challe...

We’ve watched the codes and standards tighten for years now, requiring windows and doors installed into new builds to meet ever-higher performance metrics for air/water ingress and insulating value. And they will continue to tighten as Canada’s code authorities follow the federal Roadmap to make all new buildings built in Canada meet net-zero energy performance standards by 2030. But what about th...

Recorded the day after Ontario returned Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives to majority government, Luca Bucci, CEO of the OHBA, joined The Hammer to register the association’s official reaction to the new government and share his thoughts on what should happen and what might happen going forward. He talks about why the OHBA is overall excited and positive about the PCs returning to power. The t...

Now is the time for builders, contractors and even homeowners to consider protection against water infiltration from potential flooding. With high water levels and extreme weather from climate change, we are bound to experience residential water penetration problems. Join Maxime Duzyk, Director of Building Science with Huntsman Building Solutions, as he discusses what we should be thinking as far...

Slow clap for the 2020 National Building Code and National Energy Building Code that have been released at last after long delay. Gord Cooke of Building Knowledge joins The Hammer to explain what’s in the new model codes for window and door providers, especially the tiered energy efficiency requirements that will probably soon be the law throughout the land. We’ve known about much of this for some...

Last year in Ontario, 30 percent of all the working people who died from opioid overdose worked in the construction industry. It’s clearly time for we who employ tradespeople to pay some extra attention to this issue and be prepared to help those in our companies who struggle with substance use and misuse. To help, Jan Chappel, a senior occupational health and safety specialist with CCOHS, joined...

We all hate taxes. But is there a case to be made that contractors should pay what the law says they owe? Mike Yorke, director of public affairs for the Carpenters District Council of Ontario joins The Hammer to talk about the CDCO’s No Tax Fraud awareness raising campaign and make his argument for contractors playing it above board, especially when it comes to larger projects and payroll taxes. H...

Mickel Maalouf of Huntsman Building Solutions joins The Hammer to discuss unvented roof and attic assemblies, how they work and key considerations. With home space taking center stage, conditioned, livable unvented roof attics and unvented cathedral ceilings are in demand and increase the resale value of a home. However, this can cause problems for traditional ventilated roof assemblies as the geo...

Jennifer Khan is EllisDon’s director of diversity and inclusion. She joined The Hammer to talk about why one of Canada’s largest general contractors has devoted serious resources to furthering the cause of greater acceptance of all identify groups in workplaces and the industry. We touch on just what diversity and inclusion means and how EllisDon is trying to advance the cause. We get into some as...

The Ontario Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, Monte McNaughton, joins The Hammer to explain the newly formed Skilled Trades Ontario agency, which replaces the Ontario College of Trades as the apprenticeship and skilled trades regulator for the province. He gets into the need to replace OCOT and the priorities for the new organization, and shares some thoughts on the im...

Energy efficiency within windows starts with insulated glass. This is what keeps heat from coming in through your windows in the summer and cold out in the winter. During this podcast, we will discuss what an Insulated Glass Unit is and everything responsible for your customers’ home comfort.

Now for something completely different. Our brand manager, Navneet Matharu, joins The Hammer to take a look back at 2021, a look ahead to 2022 and a peek behind the curtain at what the Canadian Contractor B2B channel does and how it does it. Nav spends her days talking to your suppliers across the industry and thinking about how to help them communicate with you, so no one is better positioned to...

Torch-down and hot asphalt roofing membrane solutions have the advantage of being familiar. But what if there were an easier and faster way? Flintlastic SA self-adhering roofing systems from CertainTeed are field-proven, bear the same warranty as traditional systems and can be installed in almost half the time. The new self-adhering technology is so effective, it’s becoming more popular even for l...

Our lives have changed faster than ever in the last two years, and those changes are driving accelerated evolution in design trends. Johanne Munger, national account manager and design expert for JELD-WEN Canada joins the podcast to tell us about three important emerging colour and concept trends and to share her advice on how contractors can use window and door products to give clients the experi...

Keeping an eye (and ear) on your critical materials, equipment and personnel is more important than ever. Luckily, technology in site security systems is advancing quickly. Gavin Daly of Axis Communications joins The Hammer to talk about the principles of security systems: what are the objectives? What is possible and not possible? What threats and opportunities should you consider? He touches on...

Michael Garrity, CEO of FinanceIt, joins The Hammer to explain the power of project financing as a sales tool for Canadian contractors. "This tool gives you the ability to solve your customers' budget problems, solve them right there and get them to move ahead." Project financing can help you do the kind of work you want to do and take your company in the direction you want to go: higher quality,...

Amanda Boyer, product manager for CertainTeed residential roofing solutions, joins this special episode of The Hammer to discuss NorthGate ClimateFlex designer shingles and the innovative design that adds durability and better energy performance for tough Canadian environments. ClimateFlex’s polymer-infused shingle resists cracking from freeze/thaw cycles; boosts the insulation value of the roof;...

We know the pandemic has done SOMETHING to our supply chains. But what? Michael Gabert and the Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors are tasked with understanding the prices and availability of all manner of construction supplies and generating accurate estimates and forecasts for their clients. So he was the perfect person to have on the podcast to explain why it’s so hard to get the things we...

Maxime Duzyk joins The Hammer to tell us all about Huntsman Building Solutions' D-Max wall assembly system. Essentially, this simple system creates a break between the main wall studs and the exterior sheathing of a building façade, which is then filled with Huntsman's Heatlok Soya HOF spray foam insulation product. The advantages are impressive. Greater insulating values. The ability to install i...

The Buildings Show, Canada’s largest construction show happening Dec. 1 to 3 at the Toronto Convention Centre, has been a popular destination for contractors because of the opportunity it affords to take in the broadest possible range of suppliers and conference topics out there. There’s always a nice selection of commercial glazing and façade construction products, but also HVAC, insulation, roof...

In this special episode brought to you by CertainTeed, channel manager for exterior products, Kelly Warren, explains the growing demand for energy-efficient and environmentally friendly building products and how CertainTeed is working to meet the challenge. Backed by 350-year-old construction supplier giant, Saint-Gobain, CertainTeed is bringing a vision of longer-lasting, higher-performing homes...