Fenestration Conversations

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 they will save more money on energy than the marginal sticker price on the product. That’s just one of the out-of-the-box insights Cooke drops in this month’s Fenestration Conversation. Enjoy!

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 industry. Some grotesque incidents at Ontario jobsites last year attracted revulsion across the country, promoting construction leaders as high up as Geoff Smith at EllisDon to call for a focus on eliminating racism in Canadian construction. So it seemed like a good time to invite the president of the ACCA, Sephton Spence, to join Fenestration Conversations to tell us all about the new association and the proud history of Black construction work in Canada.

Newly anointed CEO of Rehau North America, Dr. Tom Troeger, joins Fenestration Conversations to talk about his plans in this market for one of Europe’s largest window system manufacturers. As a performance supplier, Rehau has struggled to break through in cost-conscious Canada and the United States, but tightening energy efficiency requirements are showing Troeger an opportunity for growth and the parent organization is reacting with significant investments in production in Mexico and South America. The conversation touches on new framing technology, Rehau’s approach to marketing and fabricator support, the prospects for inflation, COVID challenges to supply chains, differences between Europe and North America and more.

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 online calculator, reading labels and, mainly, providing the manufacturer’s quote sheets to building inspectors ahead of time so you know if the product passes muster before you buy and install. We also touch on some general issues of communication and enforcement and get into a couple other problem zones such as roof trusses and radon rough-ins.

It’s been quiet over at the Natural Resources Canada Market Transformation Initiative…too quiet. Al Jaugelis, Fenestration Canada technical director and co-chair of the Initiative’s expert team for fenestration, joins the Conversation to explain what his group has been up to and where things are going. It’s a big look at Canada’s effort to drive installation of higher performing windows in our houses. We touch on Energy Star, the hope to avoid regulation, labelling, the state of the market for energy efficient designs and more.

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 committee developing this standard and joins the Conversation to share the latest updates that will be incorporated in the National Building Code’s 2020 revisions. George also puts out the call for you to get involved with the process to make the next round up updates, which will be starting soon.

In addition to selling Continental and Fux laminating products, Marco Patermann is a great educator when it comes to lamination science and technology. Here we take a deep dive into fenestration finishing technology, answering some of the questions you might have if you’ve thought about doing some laminating but weren’t sure if it’s right for you. Patermann touches on recent advances in both the laminate and the machinery; considerations for production and throughput; the capabilities of laminates versus paint; and the science behind how even dark-coloured laminate doesn’t heat up.

It’s always good to see Canadian window fabricators growing aggressively and opening up new markets. Everlast has been on a tear over the last few years and its latest move was to acquire Alberta Vinyl Windows and Doors (AVWD) in Calgary, marking the Toronto manufacturer’s first bricks-and-mortar presence in western Canada. Mike Bruno, Everlast president, and Dallas Paquette, general manager of the Calgary location, join Conversations to talk about the strategy and origins of the acquisition, their big plans for the near future, the opportunities and challenges in the western market and more.

Pandemic response expert Suzanne Bernier rejoins Fenestration Conversations to tell us what we’ve learned in six 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 news is not all good.

North America’s largest trade event for the fenestration and glass industries, GlassBuild, moved online in September and that created a unique opportunity for international involvement. Fenestration Review editor Patrick Flannery was invited to host a panel discussion discussing the business in Canada and explaining the bizarre world of northern fenestration to our American friends. Terry Adamson of Westeck Windows, Angelo Cairo of Stouffville Glass, Nathalie Thibault of LePage Millwork and Rick Pries of Fenestration Pro joined Flannery for a lively and informative discussion. Here’s the audio.