The Hammer

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 need for our jobsites and plants. Michael discusses how negative effects from the pandemic snowball as they roll down the supply chain, starting at mines and ships and ending up as big delays on our loading docks. We get into inflation, interest rates, aluminum futures shipping containers and the outlook for our globalized trading system.

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 insulation from the inside of the building in parallel with façade completion. Thinner walls. Easier access for utilities and services. Fewer steps to wall construction. Lower jobsite heating and equipment costs. The list goes on. Maxime does a great job of explaining this potentially game-changing technology.

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, roofing, concrete and even property management solutions. This time, there’s a building envelope session but also many sessions aimed at “soft skills” in the construction industry: human resources, marketing, leadership, project management and other topics we know are critical but don’t always have time to think about. Since the Buildings Show is returning as a live event for the first time since the pandemic hit, we thought it was time to invite program director Teresa Baker to The Hammer to give us the full FYI.

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 to market with products like Solaris shingle granules that reflect solar heat and Cedar Impressions polymer siding that lasts longer than traditional siding. But the commitment to climate-friendly building doesn’t stop with the products; Warren also describes how CertainTeed’s contractor resources and extended warranty programs help its clients get the job done right and achieve the tough standards Canadian contractors will have to meet in the future.

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 dioxide was released in the manufacture, transport, installation, maintenance and disposal of building materials. Maalouf explains how choosing products with EPDs can satisfy your clients’ need to create a life cycle analysis for their designs and help them meet the tough environmental regulations of the future.

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 the rebate program, what homeowners can get back in rebates, what projects might qualify, how the Energuide evaluations work and more. Green Homes Grants could be a powerful tool in our sales toolbox for years to come.

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 women to join. This is a conversation that the industry frequently needs to have. Let’s make this industry a comfortable, conducive place for women to work in!

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 your clients can take advantage of it; what to look for in compliant products; and the potential benefits for your business.

If you have any questions after the  podcast please contact the JELD WEN Canada experts.

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 and tightening requirements. David Dietrich, Huntsman’s national manager for residential segment and building programs, joins Canadian Contractor editor Patrick Flannery to explain this great program.

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 episode of The Hammer. Enjoy!