The Hammer

Senior representative for sustainable building science, Mickel Maalouf, joins Patrick Flannery to talk about the growing demand for builders to show not only the energy-efficiency of their designs, but also their low contribution to climate change through embodied carbon. More and more architects and project owners are asking for Environmental Product Declarations that certify how much carbon diox...

After years of discussions, roadmaps, studies and conferences, NRCan has settled on the route it wants to take to encourage Canadians to upgrade their homes for higher energy efficiency. The Greener Homes initiative was announced last fall and its online portal is now open for homeowners to register their projects. Senior director for the program, Ruth Talbot, joins The Hammer to explain...

If you think women have the same experience as men in the construction world, think again. Canadian Contractor associate editor, Sukanya Ray Ghosh, speaks to Natasha Fritz, owner of Natural Carpentry. Natasha talks about what it took for her to establish her career in the industry, the changes she has seen over the years, the challenges women still face and the prospects for the next generation of...

The new Greener Homes Grant for energy-efficient home retrofits presents an opportunity for you to upgrade your client’s homes with cutting-edge, high-performing windows and doors. Two experts from one of Canada’s largest manufacturers of Energy Star-certified fenestration products, JELD-WEN Canada, join Canadian Contractor editor, Patrick Flannery, to talk about just what Greener Homes is; how yo...

Presented by Huntsman Building Solutions Awareness is continuing to grow of the important role home energy use plays in Canada’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. In response, governments will be asking us to build more and more energy-efficient buildings over the next decades and beyond. Huntsman Building Solutions has a program to help contractors meet the challenges of these new...

Gord Cooke, CEO of Building Knowledge in Cambridge, Ont., doesn’t have much time for talk about ROI when it comes to justifying higher performance windows and other building products in residential construction. Do we talk about ROI when buying a TV? A car? For too long, Cooke says, we’ve bought into the paradigm that the only way to sell energy-efficient products is to convince homeowners that th...

Anyone in this business knows how to build things that work well and last a long time. That’s what contractors and renovators are good at. But what about all the other aspects of running a successful business? Sales and marketing? Administration? Customer communication? After-sales support? Michelle Kaplan came to the construction contracting world from the outside and quickly saw that small, inde...

As event concepts go, Byron Brooks’ Builders and Brews has the twin advantages of simplicity and instant appeal. Let’s get together and drink craft beer. Brooks was inspired to launch his series of evening get-togethers for Calgary’s construction trades community when he saw how the local craft brewing industry collaborated to help each other with advice, labour and even supplies. So he joined for...

Black Canadians have been part of our construction industry for as long as there’s been one, including many Black-owned contracting businesses. Now, a new organization known as the Afro-Canadian Contractors Association has come along to raise awareness of the good work they do, promote their inclusion and fair treatment and to help its members take advantage of the opportunities out there in our i...

Building codes and the standards they reference continue to shift with the ongoing concerns about climate change and the new weather conditions our fenestration will have to endure. One observation we hear frequently is that it doesn’t matter how energy-efficient products are if they are installed incorrectly. Enter the CSA A440.4 window and door installation standard. George Torok chairs the comm...

Steve Nason is a building inspector in New Brunswick who has taken a special interest in windows and doors and the many issues around compliance with their codes and standards. It can be difficult for contractors to know when products meet their area’s regulations for things like energy efficiency and air/water ingress. Steve is here to help with some solid tips about using Fenestration Canada’s o...

From wildfires to floods to ice storms, our country is no stranger to disasters that do significant property damage. And climate change appears to be driving more of them every year. Jim Mandeville and FirstOnSite are, as the name suggests, some of the first people on site when disaster hits and they do important work coordinating the efforts to mitigate damage and rebuild afterwards. As such, Jim...

Pandemic response expert Suzanne Bernier joins The Hammer to tell us what we’ve learned in nine months of pandemic about the virus, how it spreads and what businesses should do to combat it. We touch on some of the controversies around masks and lockdowns and whether surfaces are primary vectors for COVID-19. Suzanne looks ahead to the winter and the prospects for a vaccine – and the new...

On this special episode of The Hammer, sponsored by Huntsman Building Solutions, we’re learning about spray-foam insulation from top experts at Huntsman, Director of Engineering and Building Science, Maxime Duzyk and Director of Canadian Sales, Joe Upper.

Bonny rejoins The Hammer with crucial information on changes to various federal and Ontario pandemic relief programs. Overall, eligibility is tightening, but some new programs are on the horizon. We also chat about how effective these efforts have been and what is likely to happen to them going forward.

If there’s one thing Canada has, it’s trees. But right now we’re seeing lumber shortages right across the country and high prices when you can find what you’re looking for. What happened? Liz Kovachs is executive director of the Western Retail Lumber Association and she’s got some answers from her members and their suppliers that might surprise you. Hint: it’s not just the pandemic.

Following the environmental concerns raised in the Montreal and Kyoto protocols, spray foam companies were challenged to act proactively. They have emerged perhaps stronger than ever with new chemistry that does not harm the ozone layer or contribute to climate change. And, happily, the new formulations may actually make spray foam insulation easier to apply. We spoke with Simon Baker and Dou...

With the retirement of founder Nancy Peterson, there are new stars in the HomeStars sky. Shir Magen and Megan Oldfield have taken over and they have big plans to expand Canada’s largest online contractor directory service. We talk about how HomeStars works to verify their database of 60,000 trusted contractors and connect the right contractor to the right job. The touchy topic of online reviews is...

Casey Edge, executive director of the VRBA, joins Canadian Contractor editor Patrick Flannery to talk about his new Leading Edge column in the magazine, affordable housing, municipal regulations, building codes, climate change mitigation, the B.C. market and more. Casey knows his stuff and isn’t afraid to share – buckle up for some spicy opinions!

How do we get young people interested in the trades? Ian Howcroft has some ideas and the organization he leads, Skills Ontario, is working hard in schools and through its Skills Challenge competition to seed the ground for our future workforce. In this episode, Canadian Contractor editor Patrick Flannery talks to Howcroft about how they’ve modified their programs to operate in the pandemic, possib...

We’re changing how we do things on jobsites: keeping workers apart, providing PPE and installing handwashing stations. But one of the big ways that coronavirus gets spread is just through people moving around. And with curbside deliveries only, the lineups and delays at the store can be significant. Luckily, there are site delivery services that can keep your crew on the job and away from the gene...

Pandemic response expert Suzanne Bernier joins Canadian Contractor editor Patrick Flannery to look back at the chaotic last couple months, assess our response to the coronavirus and forecast where the health authorities will go from here. Bernier has helped craft Ontario and the U.N.’s response to previous epidemics – there is no better person to educate us about this crazy time.

Bonny Koabel from AKR Consulting joins Canadian Contractor editor Patrick Flannery to tell us what federal programs are out there to help you, who can use them and how to access them. Bonny has been helping small businesses get government funding for many years and we need her talents now more than ever. Learn about CERB, CEWS, CEBA and other things that don’t even start with C.

Government funding guru Bonny Koabel updates listeners on the most recent announcements from Ottawa about federal support for small businesses. Changes and clarifications to the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy, including when it will become available and how to apply. Also, discussion of the Canada Emergency Student Benefit, the Canada Student Service Grant and the Canada Summer Jobs program – all...