Better Builder Magazine, Issue 17 / Spring 2016

Publicationnumber42408014
In this Issue
Modular Steel Structures
The House that Amvic Built
Landmark Homes
Building Better with EIFS
Man of Steel
Is Wood Good? Part II
ISSUE 17 | SPRING 2016
Alternative
Building Structures

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BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 17 | SPRING 2016 1
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
2
Alternative Building Systems
and The Three Little Pigs
by John Godden
THE BADA TEST
3
Why Panelization Is Residential
Construction’s Answer to Uber
by Lou Bada
Industry Expert
4
The GTA Housing Market Is
Complex
by Bryan Tuckey
6
Landmark Homes – Factory
Built and Net Zero Ready
by Gord Cooke
16
Spotlight on Leaders:
Menkes Developments
by Michael Lio
INDUSTRY NEWS
10
Stronger Walls, Stronger
Structures
by Cory McCambridge
25
BONEing Up on Modular Steel
Structures
by Alex Newman
Site Specific
14
Jamie Parton – Graduate of
the School of Hard Knocks
by Alex Newman
Builder News
18
Building Better with Exterior
Insulation and Finish Systems
(EIFS)
by Michael Lio
28
Man of Steel
by Rob Blackstien
From the Ground Up
31
by Doug Tarry
FEATURE STORY
20
The House that Amvic Built
When Victor Amend PhD couldn’t find the ingredients to build the house he
wanted, he decided to engineer them himself.
by Alex Newman
6
20
24
31
ISSUE 17 | SPRING 2016
On our cover: BONE infrastructure
of North York prefab steel house.
Photo by Eric Johnson

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 17 | SPRING 20162
I
n the story of The Three Little Pigs, we can all agree the brick
house provided the most safety and durability. The Big Bad
Wolf blows down the first two houses made of straw and sticks.
What’s helpful for us in this fable are the metaphors for the
building industry. The cost of infrastructure, land, labour and
building materials is causing us to rethink what we build and how
we build it. The third pig is an innovator who invested time and
resources to build a more resilient structure. The first and second
pigs did not take enough time to think about the what and how,
and we all know what happened to their structures.
The trend in residential housing is to build “up” rather than
“out.” Ten years ago 75% of new homes in the GTA were low rise
and 25% were high rise. In 2011 these numbers flipped. Today
fewer large square-footage homes are built and new midrise
multifamily buildings are emerging.
Wood frame construction has limitations for midrise because
of structural stability (shrinkage) and combustibility issues.
Wood has been the first choice for residential construction
because of its availability and versatility. Steel as an alternative is
explored in our article on Joe Vella. He helped Fifthshire Homes
create an R-2000-certified steel frame residential building.
Über is a German word meaning above or better. If we
want to continue using wood for structure, we need to rethink
or devise a better way. Lou Bada in his column talks about
an über way of doing this – panelization. In this issue Gord
Cooke profiles Landmark Homes, who are leading a revolution
in industrializing factory-built wood homes. Michael Lio
discusses the importance of builder mentoring. Michael’s
other article examines the application of alternative exterior
insulation and finish systems (EIFS).
Doug Tarry discusses some limitations of six-storey wood
frame construction in his column “Is Wood Good?” The third
pig used brick, which really suggests something totally different
from straw or sticks. The feature article captures the brick
metaphor completely – a strong, stackable building system
perfectly suited for attached or multiunit midrise buildings. Dr.
Victor Amend embodies the moral of The Three Little Pigs story.
Not every story has a happy ending, but The Three Little
Pigs does. After the first two pigs were saved from the wolf, they
felt sorry for being lazy. They both built brick houses and lived
happily ever after. If the wolf were to come to town, the three
pigs might be bunking at the house that Amvic built. BB
Alternative Building Systems
and The Three Little Pigs
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PUBLISHING EDITOR
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FEATURE WRITERS
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Wallflower Design
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and leading builders to create
better, differentiated homes and
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impact on the environment.
PUBLICATION NUMBER
42408014
Copyright by Better Builder
Magazine. Contents may not be
reprinted or reproduced without
written permission. The opinions
expressed herein are exclusively
those of the authors and assumed
to be original work. Better Builder
Magazine cannot be held liable
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TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER
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publisher’snote / JOHN GODDEN
John Godden
Alex Newman
Gord Cooke
Michael Lio
Lou Bada
Doug Tarry
CONTRIBUTORS

This kind of innovation has been
inspiring for residential construction,
including a prominent GTA-based
builders’ association. The Residential
Construction Council of Ontario
(RESCON) has created its own
Building Innovation Group (BIG) to
bring together builders and industry
stakeholders to educate and build
capacity around panelized housing
construction – the next big game
changer for new housing. It will
answer many of our industry’s needs
and help address our challenges on
climate change. Panelization has
not been an immediately disruptive
technology. It has been introduced
gradually and gone through a process
of evolution. It has evolved to an even
higher level with the use of another
technological innovation – building
information modelling (BIM), a form
of 3-D architecture and design. The
members of the BIG group should be
commended for being creative and
courageous.
Panelization reduces energy
consumption, waste and emissions
during construction while improving
quality and productivity. A 2014
Construction Research Congress
report calculates there is almost
a 43% reduction in greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions compared to
conventional stick framing. Taking the
framing off the building site and into
a factory setting is addressing a skills
gap that has plagued our industry
for many years. Much of the heavier,
labour-intensive and at times back-
breaking work has become automated
and mechanized. The workmanship on
wood floors and walls is impeccable.
Our customers, building officials and
warranty program (Tarion) will have
greater peace of mind with a panelized
home. The three Rs (reduce, reuse and
recycle) have become an art form in a
panel plant.
Innovation for our industry
doesn’t end there. Advanced (or
inline) framing methods are made
much easier and likely using BIM
and panelization. That would mean
even more reductions in material
use and GHG emissions. Six-storey
wood framing, now recognized in the
Ontario Building Code (OBC), is made
much more achievable with panelized
floors and walls. Six-storey wood
buildings address many planning and
municipal concerns.
It’s also not difficult to see a day
when even more work is brought into
a warm and dry panel plant and off
the site.
I am excited about this innovation
in our business. Innovation is one of
the few tools in our toolbox in con
fronting the onslaught of regulation,
bureaucracy and other requirements.
Our industry has stepped up to the
plate and hit a home run. No one is
protesting at City Hall. This is all done
without one new government regula
tion or ongoing government subsidy
adding to the cost of your new home or
condo, your taxes or utility bill.
It’s amazing how a little innovation
can provide so much momentum for
an industry’s future. BB
Lou Bada is an executive with the Starlane
Home Corporation in Vaughan as well as
a member of RESCON’s technical council.
Why Panelization Is Residential
Construction’s Answer to Uber
thebadatest / LOU BADA
W
hen someone mentions disruptive technologies, we often
think about a new app like Uber, a gadget like a 3-D printer,
or a digital product like music and video streaming.
Disruption can turn industries on their heads and often produces winners and
losers in the marketplace. It can adversely affect people’s livelihoods.
Rather than use this term, I prefer “innovation.” Innovation in industry
translates into productivity – greater output per unit of input. Every so often
a technology and process come along that produce benefits that permeate an
industry with little downside, and great potential for the environment and
consumers alike. I would say that’s a big idea.
Panelized housing
construction will
answer many of
our needs and help
address challenges
on climate change.

The GTA is fast growing. It grows
by nearly 100,000 people each year
and all those people need homes. The
land development and homebuilding
industries build new homes to meet
the housing needs growth creates.
While the number of homes built has
remained pretty constant – about
35,000 new homes per year – what has
shifted in the past ten years are the
types of homes being built.
A decade ago about 75% of the
new homes sold in the GTA were low
rise and 25% were high rise. By 2011
the markets had flipped. Of the new
homes purchased that year, 75% were
in high rise condominiums. Since then
the two markets have levelled out.
Ten years ago the provincial gov
ernment introduced policies intended
to protect significant agricultural
land and green space, and shape how
and where our region grows. These
policies require more development to
occur within established areas such
as downtowns, and they mandate
new developments use less land to
accommodate more people and jobs.
The new home industry has met the
challenges of these provincial policies
and is building up instead of out.
Today the industry is building more
high rise condominiums and fewer low
rise homes than it did ten years ago.
However, the demand for townhomes,
detached and semidetached homes
has not diminished and is outpacing
supply.
In 2015 there were 41,295 new homes
purchased in the GTA according to
RealNet Canada Inc., BILD’s official
source for new home market intelli
gence. That is a 2% increase from
2014 when 40,324 new homes were
purchased.
Of those purchased last year, 21,658
were high rise homes and 19,637 were
low rise.
Total new home sales in 2015 were
up 13% from the ten-year average of
36,543. Over the last decade only 2011
and 2007 recorded more new home
sales. In 2011 there were 46,304 new
homes purchased and in 2007 there
were 43,391.
Prices of new homes in the GTA
The GTA Housing Market Is Complex
industryexpert / BRYAN TUCKEY
T
he GTA housing market is complex and dynamic, and it really is a tale of
two markets – the low rise and the high rise. Both markets are robust in the
GTA, but over the last decade they have been affected by provincial land
use policy in different ways.
45,000
40,000
10-YEAR AVERAGE = 36,543
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
YEAR TO DATE SALES
INFORMEDADVANTAGE/WWW.REALNET.CA
Yearly New Home Sales by Year and Project Type – Greater Toronto Area  High Rise  Low Rise
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015

reached new heights in 2015.
The average price per square foot
of new high rise homes hit a record-
breaking high of $584 at the end of
2015, a 5% increase from December
2014 when the average was $557
per sq ft.
The average price of a new
high rise condo unit in the GTA
was $453,083 at the end of 2015,
down from $454,476 the year prior.
However, the slight price decrease
was due to the size of units getting
smaller. In December 2015 the average
size of a new condo suite was 775 sq
ft, compared to the December 2014
average of 816 sq ft.
The growth of prices for town
homes, detached and semidetached
homes is a simple case of supply and
demand. There is consumer demand
for these types of homes, but supply
is limited, which is driving up prices.
The constraint in supply is due to a
lack of serviced land designated for
development.
The industry continues to innovate
and provide consumers with afford
able choices. Developers building
condominiums in the GTA have been
finding creative ways to maximize
living space and reduce the suite size
to make them more affordable for new
homebuyers. BB
Bryan Tuckey is
president and CEO
of the Building
Industry and Land
Development
Association (BILD), and is a land use
planner who has worked for municipal,
regional and provincial governments.
He can be found on Twitter and Facebook
(/bildgta) and at www.bildblogs.ca.
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While the number of homes built has remained
pretty constant … what has shifted in the past ten
years are the types of homes being built.

industryexpert / GORD COOKE
One outstanding example is the
Landmark Group of Companies based
in Edmonton, Alta. Landmark has
built one of North America’s most
successful homebuilding companies.
Since 1977 they have built over 15,000
homes and now build upwards of
a thousand homes per year. Their
corporate vision embraces the two
trends noted earlier: “To be a major
North American housing solutions
provider recognized for sustainability
and for leading a revolution in
the industrialization of housing
construction.” The corporate goal is
for all homes to be net zero ready as of
2016–2017. Landmark has partnered
in a manufacturing facility called
ACQBUILT Inc. since 2004 to build
pre-engineered wall and structural
components. Every process and
product is developed and applied using
rigorous lean thinking, the end goal
being to deliver the most cost-effective,
durable, healthy and efficient homes in
North America.
Moreover, Landmark has a unique
characteristic whereby they openly
share their successes, failures,
practices and vision with anyone who
Landmark Homes
I
t’s a healthy practice for any professional to take time to look out across the
next three, five and ten years in their related industry. In the homebuilding
industry you might agree there are two compelling trends to consider – the
drive to zero energy homes and the integration of manufacturing processes to our
traditional site building practices. An explosion of new materials, processes and
building codes, carbon emission concerns, energy security, and most importantly
purchaser expectations will drive our industry forward. It is incredible to see and
learn from how some of our industry members are embracing the coming changes.

asks. This gracious and open trait
runs deep in Landmark, starting with
CEO Reza Nasseri. From a history
of local philanthropy to supporting
the Canadian Home Builders’
Association’s (CHBA) Net Zero
Energy Housing Council (NZC), Reza
and his team dedicate their time,
vision, knowledge and resources to
improving our industry.
Recently working with the
Landmark team, we had a chance
to ask a few questions as to where
Landmark sees the industry headed.
They shared with us that while
they continue to see Edmonton and
Calgary homebuilding as important
markets for their manufactured
components, they are seeing an
appetite from commercial clients
as well. For example, manufactured
components are already being used
in their high rise construction.
Moreover they are building homes
in the Phoenix area and see great
opportunities for manufacturing
there. And while Ontario hasn’t been
on their immediate radar, Toronto
builders have expressed interest in
exploring the opportunities nearby.
The ACQBUILT manufacturing facility
is accessible to the building industry as
a whole and not just Landmark Homes.
Similarly, Landmark sees a bright
Landmark sees a bright future for the net zero
energy program. They feel that with a little
help from the federal and provincial governments,
it’s quite possible for net zero to be the norm.
Factory Built and Net Zero Ready
ANDREWBATIUK

future for the net zero energy
program. They feel that with a little
help from the federal and provincial
governments, it’s quite possible for
net zero to be the norm by the end
of 2017, and certainly by 2020. It
should be no surprise they feel the
strengths of a manufacturing process
to optimize costs and implement new
technologies more easily than site
building allows will really help the
numbers for net zero make economic
sense for homeowners. Reza
suggested, “The technology and the
know-how are here. We just need that
little push. With a little government
support, net zero will cross the
tipping point and become the norm.”
Like many regular readers of this
magazine, Landmark feels there’s an
appetite among builders to push the
boundaries of energy efficiency, and
if the economics support it, which
they will with a little support, we’ll
see a rapid shift in the efficiency of
new homes. Implementing more of a
manufacturing process in our industry
can only stretch and accelerate
us along that path of continual
improvement. BB
Gord Cooke is president of Building
Knowledge Canada.
Foamed-in-place walls have high R-value
and structural stability.
SUPPLIEDPHOTOS

industrynews / CORY McCAMBRIDGE
Typical wind forces exert lateral
forces on structures which can’t be
resisted by framing alone. Wood
structural panels are commonly added
to the framing to help resist these
racking forces. During a high wind
event, a building’s walls and roof bear
the brunt of the storm’s fury. High
winds can exert significant lateral
force on structures. When wind speeds
exceed design-level wind forces,
damages can run the gamut from just
superficial to long-term performance
difficulties – or in the worst case
scenario, total structural failure.
Walls continuously sheathed
with wood structural panels, and
properly connected to the foundation
below and roof above, form a strong
barrier that resists the persistent
forces of wind and earthquakes.
Wood sheathing is a critical aspect
of a building’s structural integrity.
Laboratory tests and field evaluations
show sheathing with plywood
or oriented strand board (OSB)
significantly increases the structure’s
ability to withstand high winds and
earthquakes. Used with or without
exterior continuous insulation, wood
structural panels add shear (racking)
strength that helps resist natural forces.
Continuous wood structural sheathing
also functions as an excellent nail base
for attaching siding and trim.
Wind-Resistant Construction
A structure functions best as a cohesive
system. Connections are especially
important. Poor connections are
one of the most common reasons for
failure during extreme wind events.
Building a wind-resistant structure
does not require significant labour
or cost increase over conventional
construction. Load path continuity is
critical – using fasteners in the right
places and lapping structural wall
sheathing over joints and other critical
framing components goes a long way
toward improving wind resistance.
Ten Techniques for Wind
Resistance
1. Nail wall sheathing with 8d common
(0.131 in x 2½ in) nails at 4 in (100
mm) on centre at all edges of plywood
or OSB wall sheathing, and at 6 in
(150 mm) on centre in intermediate
framing for enhanced resistance to
negative wind pressure.
Stronger Walls,
Stronger Structures
W
hile energy efficiency is an important consideration in building
design, structural resiliency is most critical. What makes for a strong
building? A building’s resilience and strength depends on its structural
soundness. While strong foundations, floors, walls and roofs are essential, these
components don’t stand alone. The strength of a structure is contingent on how
well these components are integrated to form a cohesive unit.
Wood sheathing provides superior racking strength.
APA–THEENGINEEREDWOODASSOCIATION

2. Avoid staples because they offer
less resistance to blow-off than
nails. A larger number of staples is
required to achieve a level of wind
resistance offered by using nails.
3. Use deformed shank nails
to improve the resistance of
sheathing to negative pressure.
4. Sheath gable end walls with
plywood or OSB. Tie gable end
walls back to the structure.
5. For roof framing-to-wall connec
tion, use a light gauge metal uplift
connector attached on the exterior
(sheathing side) of the exterior walls.
6. Nail roof sheathing with 8d ring
shank or deformed shank (0.131 in
x 2½ in) nails at 4 in (100 mm) on
centre along the edges of plywood
or OSB roof sheathing, and 6 in
(150 mm) on centre along the
intermediate roof framing.
7. Nail upper and lower storey sheath
ing into common wood structural
panel Rim Board. The most
effective way to provide lateral
and, in some cases, uplift load
continuity is to attach adjacent
wall sheathing panels to one
another over common framing.
8. Continuously sheath all walls with
plywood or OSB, including areas
around openings for windows and
doors.
9. Extend wood structural sheathing
at the bottom of the wall to lap the
sill plate. The connection of the
wall sheathing to the sill plate is
important because this is where the
uplift forces are transferred into
the sill plate and the foundation
through the anchor bolts.
10. Space ½ in anchor bolts 32 to 48 in
(800 to 1200 mm) on centre with
0.229 in x 3 in x 3 in (5.8 mm x 75
mm x 75 mm) slotted square plate
washers at the wall-to-sill-plate
intersection.
For more information on wind-
resistant design, consult Building for
High Wind Resistance in Light-Frame
Wood Construction, Form M310,
available from www.apawood.org/
resource-library.
Sheathing as a Nail Base for
Siding and Trim
In addition to adding strength and
resilience to the building envelope,
using wood structural panel sheathing
creates a convenient and continuous
base which allows for the attachment
of siding and trim in scenarios where
framing members are not conveniently
situated, such as advanced framing
where studs are placed at 24 in (600
mm) on centre.
When the correct number and type
of fasteners are used, full-scale wind
tunnel tests at the Insurance Institute
for Business Home Safety (IBHS)
show that siding attached directly to
continuously sheathed plywood or OSB
walls is able to withstand the same
wind forces as siding attached directly
to framing, even when attached through
a layer of continuous insulation.
Please see the recommended fastening
schedule on p. 6 of Nail-Base Sheathing
for Siding and Trim Attachment, Form
Q250, available from www.apawood.
org/resource-library.
Continuous wood structural
panel sheathing lends structural
integrity to the complete building
system and boasts not only strength,
but sustainability. Wood has the
highest life cycle assessment ratings
for any structural building material.
Continuously sheathed wood walls
simplify siding attachment and result
in a strong, resilient structure using
a renewable, sustainable and readily
available resource. BB
Cory McCambridge
is an engineered
wood specialist at
APA – The Engineered
Wood Association,
www.apawood.org

sitespecific / ALEX NEWMAN
“You could say I went to the school
of hard knocks,” laughs the 35-year-
old, now a vice-president at Menkes.
“But it was great. I worked my way
through the ranks, and had the
pleasure of working for some great
builders before coming to Menkes
almost nine years ago.”
Parton started out at Menkes as
site superintendent, quickly moved
up to general superintendent, then
construction manager, general
manager, and eventually VP of low
rise/midrise construction. He says
his specialty is “multitasking” as well
as design and constructability of low
and midrise housing.
Many of the companies Parton
worked for in the past – Mattamy,
Coscorp, Great Gulf and Daniels – built
green, but he wasn’t involved in those
projects. But since coming to Menkes,
which he says is “big on lessening its
carbon footprint and being innovative
with green initiatives,” he’s been
involved in green building. And this
most recent project in the town of
Halton Hills – The Enclaves of Upper
Canada – has raised the green stakes
considerably.
“As we know the current codes
change all the time and so does
ENERGY STAR,” Parton says. “The
margin for leakage in these homes
was almost zero and all parties
(builder/trades) had to be vigilant
in order for us to achieve a positive
door blower test and receive ENERGY
STAR certification. We keep on top
of the ENERGY STAR programs by
working with reputable people like
John Godden to keep us up to speed on
upcoming code changes.”
Partly the building code bar is
continually being raised, but a large
part is builders starting to see the
long-term benefits of reducing energy
consumption, especially since
purchasers are starting to ask. Menkes,
Parton says, has built ENERGY STAR
before – about four years ago – but this
initiative was a “big leap forward.”
At The Enclaves, all 200 or so homes
are ENERGY STAR, which is an energy
efficiency distinction. There is also a
Leadership in Energy and Environ
mental Design (LEED) Silver-certified
home at the site called the Discovery
Home. This is a sustainability distinc
tion and its energy component is better
than ENERGY STAR.
In the 200 or so ENERGY STAR
homes, they’ve used Excel, an exterior
structural insulated sheathing, which
has an R-value of about 2. When
coupled with standard R22 fibreglass
insulation batts, the exterior walls have
an R-value of 24, bumping them into
ENERGY STAR territory. Excel also acts
as an exterior air barrier system,
eliminating the need for interior air
barrier detailing. The result is an
airtight envelope that is more cost
effective and structurally sound.
They also spent more effort on
“sealing penetrations to ensure the
envelope had no air penetration,”
Parton says. ENERGY STAR has
rigorous requirements for airtightness.
For example, attics are insulated to
Jamie Parton
Graduate of the School of Hard Knocks
J
amie Parton is one of those rare exceptions to the rule – after high school,
instead of going to university as he’d intended and dreamed about, he took
a summer job in construction, loved it and decided to stay.
Jamie Parton points out
this Menkes house is 26%
BTC (Better Than Code).
PHOTOSBYBETTERBUILDERSTAFF
Menkes LEED Silver home.

R50 with cellulose insulation. Spray foam insulation
is used above the garage and porch to improve the
comfort of these living areas. Basements are insulated
with an R20 blanket that comes within 10 in of the
floor, basement ductwork is sealed and windows are
ENERGY STAR as well.
Inside, the heating, ventilating and air conditioning
(HVAC) also works to improve performance and
comfort, Parton says. The house provides continuous
ventilation with a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) for air
exchange. In addition, a drainwater heat recovery
system transfers heat from the outgoing greywater to
help heat incoming municipal water, which actually
saves 25% on hot water heating.
The furnace is high efficiency, forced air gas, but
more importantly it’s been right sized, Parton says. It
has a two-stage burner with an electronically commu
tated motor (ECM). This keeps the house more comfort
able as the furnace is running longer on its first stage.
Clearsphere spent a lot of time helping design and
test the HVAC system in the ENERGY STAR homes as
well as fully commissioning the Discovery Home’s
HVAC, says Parton. “We opted for a 96% efficient
Polaris hot water tank, which performs better than a
tankless hot water heater.”
Water conservation is led by low flow toilets and
faucets, the reuse of greywater to help heat incoming
municipal water, and rainbarrels outside for landscape
use.
The LEED Silver Discovery Home is a major feature
of the project, built on-site as a model for purchasers to
see what can be done. It’s the first LEED Silver-certified
home in Halton Hills, and has higher efficiency air
conditioning and an energy recovery ventilator (ERV)
instead of an HRV, which controls and retains humidity
in the home when needed.
Parton says the Discovery Home was an informa
tional tool for prospective purchasers. “We wanted to
push the bar on energy efficiency and sustainability.
We built the LEED Silver [Discovery Home] to gauge
what the response would be to future projects. We’re
using the Discovery Home as a marketing platform, to
test the market and see how well it will be received in
future. It gives purchasers yet another opportunity to
be as efficient as they want.” BB
Alex Newman is a writer, editor and researcher at
www.alexnewmanwriter.com.
Roof truss and wood
sill connection.
Simpson Strong Tie
MGT system shown
Drywall
screwed
into amvic
polypropylene
webs as per
building code
Electrical
outlet
Wood sub-floor
installed as per
local building
Simpson strong tie
ICFLC and wood floor
joists connection
Amvic insulating
concrete forms
Amdeck floor
roof system
Exterior wood
siding installed
as per local
building code
Amvic high
impact
polypropylene
webs
Acrylic,
standard
ptucco or eifs
applied to
exterior face
of Amvic ICF
Brick veneer
Parge face of
exposed
brick ledge
Grade
Peel-and-stick
waterproofing
membrane (or
equivalent)
as per local
building code
Perforated
weeping tile
INSULATED
CONCRETEFORMS
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:
AMVIC.COM

industryexpert / MICHAEL LIO
U
nlike other industries the hous-
ing market can take decades to
adopt new building practices.
The structure of the new housing
market impedes the uptake of inno
vation. To drive innovation a forward-
thinking builder needs to have a
strategy to lower the barriers to change.
buildABILITY Corporation and
Clearsphere worked with Menkes
Developments to bring a change
strategy to its Georgetown new home
site. The strategy addresses key
impediments to change including:
• revising designs and drawings to
incorporate new methods
• building trade capacity to adopt
new practices and deliver a defect-
free home
• working with municipalities to
ensure changes are well under
stood to prevent approval delays.
Menkes Developments enrolled
in the Union Gas Optimum Home
Program and committed to build
its entire Georgetown site to meet
the ENERGY STAR for New Homes
specification. The company is
currently building 184 semilinks and
fully detached ENERGY STAR homes
in The Enclaves of Upper Canada, a
new subdivision in Halton Hills.
The Optimum Home Program
involves top builders designing and
building high performance homes
that exceed the energy efficiency
requirements of the Ontario Building
Code (OBC). Optimum Homes are
independently verified by a third
party to be at least 20% more energy
efficient than the 2012 OBC. The
Optimum Home process included
benchmarking construction, devel
oping a construction specification
tailored to the builder’s goals, building
a Discovery House and Discovery Site.
Menkes chose to use a new exterior
sheathing as their air barrier. They
used BP’s Excel board, a structural
wood fibre insulation panel that has a
nonwoven polypropylene air barrier.
Excel sheathing allows a builder to
move the air barrier to the exterior
of the building. For the builder this
means the poly on the interior no
longer has to be sealed, saving time
and money. In some cases the builder
might also be able to exclude builder
paper, saving more time and money.
A number of details were developed
and considered to simplify construct
ing the exterior air barrier system.
These were reviewed and revised by
construction personnel to ensure they
could be easily built and inspected.
Spotlight on Leaders: Menkes Developments
Trades were able to experience the
new construction on a discovery house
and were able to provide feedback to
the builder. Without the buy-in and
participation from trades, it becomes
very difficult if not impossible to suc
cessfully achieve all the ENERGY STAR
requirements. The construction was
reviewed by Clearsphere to identify any
deficiencies. Trades were informed of
the issues and adjustments were made
to ensure deficiencies did not reoccur.
Menkes created a culture on-site with
the trades to work toward the goals.
Homeowner outreach was also an
important part of the change strategy
that allowed Menkes to differentiate
itself as a builder. Menkes held a very
successful homeowner orientation
session for homebuyers. They had an
industry expert walk their customers
through the benefits of their homes.
The implementation of the change
strategy allowed Menkes to success
fully build Canada’s newest LEED
Silver home in the same development.
The LEED home includes a balanced
energy recovery ventilator (ERV) with
an electronically commutated motor
(ECM) fan. The furnace in the LEED
home has 95% efficiency and a two-
stage motor. The house achieved an
airtightness level of less than 2 ACH (air
changes per hour). The garage included
a 150 cfm exhaust fan with motion
sensor. The LEED Canada certification
identifies this home as a pioneering
example of sustainable design and
demonstrates Menkes’ leadership in
transforming the building industry. BB
Michael Lio is president of buildABILITY
Corporation. michael@buildability.ca
Left to right :
Mayor Rick
Bonnette, Town
of Halton Hills;
Steven Menkes,
president
of Menkes
Developments;
Adam Menkes,
development
manager,
Menkes
Developments.
BETTERBUILDERSTAFF

Many confuse EIFS and stucco,
where in reality the only similarity is
that they are both trowel applied to
the exterior wall. Stucco is a cladding
traditionally made from Portland
cement-based plaster applied to a wall
in multiple coats over mechanically
attached (thermally bridging)
reinforcing lath. Stucco cladding is
difficult to install over continuous
insulation. Unlike stucco EIFS is
more than a cladding. Aside from
its insulating properties, EIFS also
provides air leakage control. EIFS
is an engineered system designed,
produced and installed in a highly
prescribed fashion.
EIFS was first introduced in
North America in 1969 with the first
installations in Canada taking place
in 1972. Today, there are three EIFS
standards in Canada developed by
the Underwriters’ Laboratories of
Canada (UL) that describe materials,
installation and design.
buildernews / MICHAEL LIO
EIFS includes a continuous insu-
lation layer that can help the assembly
comply with the most demanding
energy codes anywhere in Canada.
EIFS cladding includes a fluid-
applied, water-resistive air barrier
that protects the rough openings and
sheathing from outside water.
Flashings are easily integrated with
the protection. The continuous
insulation layer – up to 6 in (R24) – is
bonded adhesively to the water
barrier without thermal bridging (as
shown in Figure 1). A reinforced base
coat and finish are applied over the
insulation.
EIFS come in a wide variety of
architectural finishes that can be
applied in an infinite range of colours.
Today’s EIFS can replicate almost any
other cladding such as brick masonry,
limestone, granite and other natural
rock, metal and tile. Decorative
accents such as cornices, arches,
columns and keystones are available.
They are produced by computer-
controlled cutting equipment to
create precise finishes (see Figure 2).
EIFS is recognized within the
Ontario Building Code (OBC) in both
Part 5.10 and Part 9. For Part 9, Section
9.27 covers requirements for EIFS
including enhanced drainage profiles.
The drainage cavity can have a variety
of patterns (see Figure 3).
In Canada the EIFS Council of
Canada (ECC) represents all EIFS
manufacturers. The EIFS Practice
Manual, published by the ECC, is
available at no cost to all builders and
EIFS installers from the ECC website:
www.eifscouncil.org/eifs-practice-
manual. It is a complete design and
installation manual that, coupled
with the system manufacturer’s
instructions, covers all the require
ments for compliance with the
standards in the OBC.
The ECC is in the process of unveil
ing two new courses – one tailored to
architects, designers and builders, and
the other to building officials. For more
information on the building officials’
course, check out the Ontario Building
Officials Association (OBOA) website at
www.oboa.on.ca. For more information
on the architect, designer and builder
course, check out buildABILITY’s web-
site at www.buildability.ca or contact
Edith Yu at edith@buildability.ca. BB
Building Better with Exterior
Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS)
B
uyers of premium homes today expect their houses to express their
personal aesthetic and deliver high levels of energy efficiency.
Exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS) provide both high
levels of energy efficiency and the flexibility to give the homebuyer the specific
aesthetic they might want.
Figure 2
Figure 1
Sum of groove width
≥ 13%
Width of EIFS panel
groove width groove width
EIFS panel width
Figure 3
Decorative accents are produced by
computer-controlled cutting equipment.
SUPPLIEDPHOTO

22 BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 17 | SPRING 2016
The House that
D
r. Victor Amend PhD has been actively involved in the construction
industry since getting his undergraduate degree in civil engineering
in 1981. For several years, he worked as a project manager for a
large construction company where he oversaw the development of
multifamily, industrial and commercial structures. Following this
he decided to return to school to get his PhD in building science and become a
lecturer. After a couple of years, he decided to enter the construction industry
again after discovering an energy-efficient homebuilding process using
insulated concrete forms (ICF), and started his own environmentally friendly,
green building material manufacturing facility, the Amvic Building System.
featurestory / ALEX NEWMAN
COURTESYAMVICBUILDINGSYSTEM

When Amend couldn’t find the
ingredients to build the house he
wanted, he decided to engineer
them himself. Amend, who left his
native Russia for Canada in 1998, had
become familiar with concrete as a
building material from seeing it at
trade shows, and also in European
homes built with concrete. He was
sold on its energy efficiency and
structural strength.
At the time he was a university
lecturer with a degree in civil
engineering, and a PhD in building
science. But when he immigrated
to Canada, and his search to buy
a concrete home yielded nothing,
he decided to leave academia and
return to the construction industry to
manufacture the components.
Since then he has supplied “thous
ands of homes” with energy-efficient
ICF. And now he’s building his own.
“They’re energy efficient, sustain
able and very strong. Concrete won’t
weaken with time. In fact, it gets
stronger and also provides a very
airtight envelope,” he says.
What he discovered after research
ing the North American building
industry, and specifically the ICF
market, was that ICF wasn’t popular,
in spite of its obvious advantages,
because no system offered easy
assembly and construction.
So Amend set out to resolve this by
designing a concrete form that could
be assembled quickly and easily on
site, was less wasteful, yet still ensured
excellent performance. And so Amvic
was born, a system that offers ICF
block for walls and AmDeck ICF blocks
for floors and roofs.
An Amvic ICF block combines
expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation
and concrete thermal mass, thus
minimizing temperature fluctuations
by absorbing and storing heat – and
can effectively reduce energy con
sumption for heating and cooling by
up to 30%. As well, its manufacturing
methods are clean. Using steam and
cold water to produce the forms means
no chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), hydro
chlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), formal
dehyde or other chemicals, and thus
no off-gassing.
One of ICF’s biggest benefits, Amend
says, is concrete’s thermal mass, which
offers all sorts of energy efficiencies
from strength and durability to being
impervious to moisture and leaking
air. Another benefit is soundproofing.
ICF has a sound transmission class
(STC) rating of 51, whereas a standard
single-family home is perhaps half that
rating, Amend says. A higher STC is
used in all semidetached and town
homes, but in single-family homes it’s
not required. However, it is appreciated
in any home when you live near an
airport or busy main street with buses
and streetcars rumbling past because
the masonry shields from noise
pollution and sound vibration.
The Process
Building with ICF is a little like
“building with blocks,” Amend says.
“You put your footings in first, then
start placing blocks on top of each
other, then pour concrete.”
Imagine stacking up the 4x16 blocks
like LEGO. ICF are stay-in-place blocks
with two panels of EPS held together
with 100% recycled plastic webs.
Once the walls have been placed with
concrete, the AmDeck floor blocks
can be installed. The AmDeck floor
system sits on 10 in steel C-channels
spanning one side of the ICF wall to
the other. When many channels are
placed side by side, they become a
reinforced beam form for the concrete
slab poured on top.
The concrete floor requires seven
days to dry fully and strengthen (or
cure). (Concrete has 75% of its strength
Amvic Built
ICF wasn’t popular, in spite of its obvious advantages,
because no system offered easy construction.

after seven days. After 28 days it has
100%.) This is the same procedure as
an ICF form, but is horizontal rather
than vertical.
The Canadian Construction
Materials Centre (CCMC) deems
Amvic the strongest ICF block form
on the market (Forming Capacity
Strength Test, Technical Guide 03131,
at 865 lbs/sq ft). It has the highest-
forming ICF capacity in the industry,
and is easier to install because of the
unique patented FormLock interlock
design. Coupled with the EPS and its
web connectors, there’s less taping,
tying or gluing during installation,
saving on labour compared to other
systems (see photo, top left).
The wall blocks are fully reversible,
so there’s less than 1% waste on the
forming system. The system can
withstand internal vibration, which
ensures a superior wall for wind and
earthquake resistance.
The system is being used in the
North York home Amend is now
building for himself, which he calls
the High-Performing Insulated
Concrete Home. Walls are ICF block
and floors are AmDeck, and triple-
glazed windows boast an R-value
of just over 5. The home’s ventilation
system is provided by an ECOAIR
ground air heat exchange system and
an energy recovery ventilator (ERV).
An earth tube draws in fresh air, which
is prewarmed with ground heat in
the winter (up to 16°F or 9°C). In the
summer this air is precooled by the
soil temperature. The ECOAIR’s intake
tube draws air from outside down 6 ft
into the earth using an 8 in pipe
coated with silver ion lining (silver is
antimicrobial and will not allow any
mould or mildew to form). This air is
then drawn into the home through an
ERV where it’s distributed through an
air distribution system (see below).
Because the ICF walls have insu
lated forms and EPS on either side
of the ICF block, this provides the
insulation. The only spaces requiring
extra insulation are the attic and under
the basement floor slab. In the attic
Amend has used spray foam on top of
the traditional wood floor trusses, and
silver board rigid sheet insulation (see
photo, top right).
Under the basement slab Amend
used his own creation – the PEX
Panel, which is a real time and money
saver. It’s not only insulation, but also
a tracking system for installing the
radiant floor tubing.
Normally for radiant floors instal
ling requires light gauge steel mesh,
and lots of labour, to tie down the
tubing. This just snaps into place
(see photo, facing page).
As expected ICF is not less expen
sive than traditional wood framing,
but demand is starting to drive costs
down, says Gary Brown, Amvic’s VP
of marketing. “ICF used to cost 8 to
10% more than traditional 2x6 and
fibreglass construction. Because
building codes are now requiring more
outboard insulation on walls, and
catching up to Amvic, the cost
Heat Exchange in Winter
Intake Air
Temperature
14ºF (-10ºC)
Output Air
Temperature
30ºF (-1ºC)
Soil
Temperature
50ºF (10ºC)
Pouring Amvic ICF walls. AmDeck floor system for radiant heat distribution.

difference is now more in the neighbourhood of 3
to 5%. The other benefit to Amvic is a tighter, more
efficient home, which allows for reducing the size of
the mechanical system.”
For the heating, ventilating and air conditioning
(HVAC), Amend had initially thought to use solar
photovoltaic (PV) roof panels in his aim for a net zero
home, but decided instead to use cheap, clean natural
gas with a central boiler and radiant floor heating.
Electricity costs ten times that of natural gas and can’t
heat houses from what electric panels generate. The
condensing boiler sends water through the basement
and main concrete floors, and radiates heat to every
surface instead of blowing hot air around, so the whole
room is warm.
With the view onto parkland, the large high
performance windows at the rear of the house and
radiant floor heating were the best approaches to
maximize comfort.
The radiant floors are installed over the AmDeck
insulated floor system. Concrete floors allow for mass,
which holds the heat and radiates it throughout the
house, keeping it very comfortable. Typically in new
homes the room over the garage is a challenge to keep
comfortable. The AmDeck floor at R18 has additional
silver board insulation added to the underside to bring
it to R40.
It’s not often that someone – out of frustration – will
actually design and create the elements to build their
own home. What’s better is when they manufacture
the elements so others can benefit too. BB
PHOTOSCOURTESYAMVICBUILDINGSYSTEM
PEX floor panels save time on basement
floor installations with radiant tubing.

26 BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 17 | SPRING 2016

“We’ve created pitch roofs, even.
It really comes down to choice of
material put on the outside,” says
Johnson. “Many of the traditional
styles we’re familiar with had their
roots in some sort of system. Frank
Lloyd Wright and others built with a
sort of interior logic, and developed a
system for circulation and construc
tion. It pretty much comes down to
stylizing and choice of materials.”
Enviro-friendly
The steel structure is environmentally
friendly for a few reasons, Johnson
says. “Steel is mostly recycled and
lasts a long time, probably about 200
years. Because it’s galvanized it’s
protected from the elements, so
there’s no worry about rust. This is
important especially if you’re build
ing in an ocean region where salt is
carried in the air and corrodes steel.”
The other thing is the system is
“extremely robust, and has a balloon-
frame structure so it can accommo
date multiple layers of insulation.”
And yes, the steel frame is more
costly. Johnson figures it could be 30
to 40% more costly. “But the market
paying these kinds of prices isn’t the
suburban tract house, but custom
builders. It’s not a drop in the bucket,
but in the overall budget with all the
custom finishes of a luxury home, it
actually is.
“You can’t compete with wood
frame,” Johnson says, “which is the de
facto standard and the least expensive
form of building.”
In Canada, we keep building in
wood because it’s relatively available
since we have timber resources. In
many other parts of the world, Johnson
says, they’re building with more
permanent materials. Wood has its
virtues, but also its problems, such as
its reliability and durability.
The BONE structure works well in
any setting – for urban infill as long as
the 5 ft spans are considered, although
Johnson says it would sometimes
require “some shoehorning or some
wasted space. It’s fine in suburban
settings because the lots are so large,
and you’re not likely to exceed the
maximum gross floor area (GFA) or get
too close to property lines.”
But the sweet spot, Johnson says,
is rural properties. “It’s really taken
off, and a majority of these projects
were rural, usually second homes or
vacation properties. One reason is
you don’t have so many restrictions
in these areas, and fewer regulations,
so it makes it easier to build with and
get approvals for. Plus these rural
properties are ones that people are
inclined to live in for a long time, and
not move after five years, so they’re
invested in spending for a durable
long-lasting structure.
In North York the lots are generally
large enough to accommodate a
standard BONE structure. At the
Tottenham home they designed, where
they also used the steel framework,
BONE was able to manufacture to a
half-module (30 in instead of 60 in)
to address a few unique conditions.
Since then, they have gone further
and will size specific components
to 1 or 2 in increments allowing for
their system to be used on narrower
urban (or downtown) lots. They’ve
also developed their own series of
homes called the Infill Collection
(www.bonestructure.ca/en/models/
collections/infill-collection/).
BONE will adapt their system to
your design using mostly standard
components on a 60 in grid, then
S
napping together like a giant LEGO set, the BONE prefab steel house frame
is quick to assemble – five days for a 4,000 sq ft house – is environmentally
friendly and lasts about 200 years. You can even add onto it easily long after
the house is built.
In fact, there’s no real downside, says Eric Johnson, architect for E2, the firm that
recently designed a North York house using the BONE infrastructure. Mostly the
system is well suited to a modern style, but he says it’s possible to create any style.
industrynews / ALEX NEWMAN
BONEing Up
on Modular Steel Structures
PHOTOSBYERICJOHNSON

customize only those (few) com
ponents necessary to suit the design,
Johnson adds.
The 11 gauge galvanized steel
components used in a BONE structure
home can be anchored to any type of
foundation – concrete slab, insulated
concrete forms (ICF) or pillars using
BONE’s Ankle System. Exterior
columns placed at 5 ft intervals
allow for spans of up to 25 ft without
having to break up the space with
intermediate columns or load-bearing
walls. The structure is reinforced
by steel bracings, and then metal
supports are added for interior and
exterior furring. The roof is made of
structural insulated panels (SIP) and
ZBARs are used for attaching exterior
finishes.
Because the home is designed
before the steel system is ordered,
windows and doors are easy to install.
Type II expanded polystyrene (EPS)
insulation boards fit snugly with the
steel frame, and 2.5 in soy-based
polyurethane foam sprayed in creates
a thermal envelope that helps keep
a house warm in winter and cool in
summer. It makes for R-values in the
wall of R28.5 minimum, and in the
At the North York house, Johnson
says the ceramic panel exterior
cladding worked well with the BONE
structure. “We saw it as a brick
alternative. We’re trying to eliminate
wet trades, those that rely on water,
such as mixing mortar for bricks, so
that we can build in the winter as well.”
The ceramic panels are thin and
durable, like vitrified clay, Johnson
says. “They have fairly unique
properties, like being self-cleaning,
with coatings that absorb nitrates.
Rain then washes away the pollutants.”
For insulation, Johnson says they’ve
used spray foam for its high R-value
and airtightness. Joist panels in
recycled polystyrene are designed to fit
between the steel columns, and
exterior cladding support is a ZBAR
that attaches to the columns by a
thermal brig or clip, which has a plastic
spacer to break thermal conductance.
To thermally protect the steel, foam is
on the outside. Once the rigid panels
are installed, spray foam insulation
applied on the exterior will bring walls
up to the required R-value. If you
wanted to increase the insulation,
Johnson says, you could add to the
inside because there is a 2 in space that
roof R56 or higher.
The only challenge is once the steel
frame is fabricated and delivered,
there’s no way to make alterations
unless you’re prepared to reorder some-
thing and that takes time, Johnson
says. Wood has a certain amount of
flexibility. If something isn’t quite
working, you take a saw and cut it.
And because we’re not familiar with
the material there’s a learning curve,
but Johnson figures by the third house
built this way, it becomes very easy and
you’ll be “sold on all its virtues.”
One of those virtues is that
openings can be ordered with exact
dimensions, so windows and doors can
be onsite waiting for the frame, which
makes assembly very fast.
Also, the precision means “The
house comes exactly as we envisioned
it. It’s also ideally suitable where
the architect wants to eliminate all
trim,” Johnson says. “Trim can hide
a multitude of imperfections. With
this system we run drywall right into
the window, which you can’t do with
wood. When it’s very cold out, or the
materials have issues, these are things
that can’t be resolved easily without
using precise materials.”
PHOTOSBYERICJOHNSON
Left to right: Walls erected on 60 in grid. Exterior cladding attached to ZBAR, which carries an additional R15 insulation from soy-based foam.

would allow this. Otherwise, the
builder could request that BONE
provide a deeper ZBAR construction,
and maybe even a deeper rigid panel,
which would allow for more insula
tion on the outside of the panels.
The final R-values of R50 for the
roof and R30 for the walls of a typical
BONE structure are achieved using
three products, Johnson explains.
The first are the SIPs installed on
top of the roof joists. Then recycled
EPS panels designed specifically for
BONE structures are fitted between
the columns and in all other wall
openings. Finally, 2 lb spray foam is
applied over the EPS wall panels from
the outside and to the underside of the
roof SIPs from the inside.
Johnson says they coupled the
insulation with an effective heating,
ventilating and air conditioning
(HVAC) system – radiant floor heat
and an air handler for forced air. The
reason radiant heat is good, Johnson
explains, is that BONE doesn’t have a
lot of thermal mass. There’s a column
every 5 ft and the rest is steel BONE.
And the more insulation you put, the
better it performs, he adds.
Because the BONE system is essen-
tially a shell without interior divisions,
you are “getting an open box,” Johnson
says. “So it’s easy to create any kind of
interior design and layout that you
want. Because the system supplies a
vertical bar with a cutout every 16 in
that matches the profile of a furring
channel used to attach drywall, you
can create the layout you want.
“Because the joists have large pene-
trations, it’s possible to run all ductwork
and electrical without having to cut
anything, which speeds up the process
as well,” Johnson points out. BB
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FRESH AIR JUST
GOT GREENER
*ON MOST MODELS.
Because we’re not familiar with the material
there’s a learning curve, but … it becomes very
easy and you’ll be “sold on all its virtues.”

buildernews / ROB BLACKSTIEN
As a 16-year-old boy, Vella was
“into hot muscle cars of the late ’60s,”
which led to studying mechanics, but
he soon decided that wasn’t where his
future lay. So when his brother-in-law
– who had begun Fifthshire in 1977
– asked him to come work with him,
Vella jumped at the opportunity.
Vella connected to homebuilding in
a way he never did with auto mechanics.
“I got very interested, very quickly,”
he says. He sucked up knowledge
like a sponge, taking courses to
learn how to read building plans and
architectural drawings. It was the
start of a lifelong passion that saw the
certified construction superintendent
take many accredited courses over
the years from schools like George
Brown, Seneca and Humber including
project management, architecture and
building science.
In addition to residential construc
tion, Vella’s path took him into com
mercial building, helping to craft mall
stores, offices, restaurants, and even
a 26,000 sq ft head office for a food
company.
“I pretty well do everything, so I’ve
got my expertise in just about every
part of construction,” he says.
Man of Steel
J
oe Vella has been blazing a trail in the Ontario homebuilding
industry for nearly three and a half decades.
However, if not for a fateful phone call in 1982 from his
brother-in-law, Vella might have been making his mark in the world of auto
mechanics instead of pioneering residential steel frame construction in
Canada as the vice-president of Concord, Ont.-based Fifthshire Homes Ltd.
Joe Vella helped Fifthshire Homes develop a cutting-edge reputation as the first
Canadian builder to create an R-2000-certified steel frame residential building.
Precut steel components minimize waste.

In fact, it was Vella’s commercial
construction experience that first
made him wonder if steel framing
could be applied in a residential
environment.
“I was tired of hearing the
carpenters complain about how the
wood was crooked and warped, or
complaining about the difficulty in
cutting the studs when drywall was
put in and trying to straighten the
walls, put the drywall on, and then the
walls were crooked again,” he says.
At this time Fifthshire was
building more high end custom
homes, originally in Nobleton,
ultimately working in Schomberg,
Maple, Richmond Hill and Sharon.
“I was thinking to myself, How can
we build this for a clientele when we’re
supposed to be building a high quality
product with an inferior product?”
Vella then approached a metal
manufacturer and got an engineer
involved, because by using a steel
frame he had to build homes under
Part 9 instead of Part 4 of the building
code.
“And then we said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Among the concerns at the outset
was that steel has thermal bridges.
However, Vella says that was a simple
obstacle to overcome as the building
code calls for insulated sheathing
on the outside of a steel stud wall – a
minimum of 25% of the cavity.
“So I said, ‘Well, we’ll put more.
We’ll put 50 or 100%.’”
Fifthshire built its inaugural steel-
framed home in 1991 – the first such
R-2000-certified house in Canadian
history. They’ve now built around
80 R-2000 all-steel houses and, more
recently, several others that are
ENERGY STAR certified.
Yes, steel adds about 15 to 20% to
the framing costs, Vella estimates, but
when you factor in the waste reduction,
it’s probably only 1 or 2% more.
There is also a learning curve invol
ved here, and he speculates this is likely
a barrier to entry for most builders.
But the advantages of steel framing
far outweigh the disadvantages, Vella
assures.
Higher cavity insulation and non
combustibility are huge bonuses. “But
the biggest one is that you don’t get nail
pops, you don’t get shrinkage, therefore
the corner beads don’t move,” he says.
That will really cut into a builder’s
callbacks.
The eco-friendly factor of steel can’t
be overstated.
Vella estimates 99% of the house is
precut, which means there is low waste.
“Any waste we have doesn’t go to
landfill – 100% goes back to recycling.”
Considering waste factors in wood
homes are around 25% whereas it’s
less than 2% in their homes, that’s a
massive advantage which helps offset
the higher costs.
In fact, the steel Fifthshire uses is
so green (an average of 87% recycled
material in Ontario) that “We actually
get LEED points for our steel studs,” he
says.
Walls tend to be much straighter
with steel framing and because steel is
inert, it’s mould-free, he adds.
There are also myriad geographic-
specific benefits – it’s termite-free;
in high wind zones, steel framing is
less of a risk because it’s stronger;
and Vella says his frames are “much,
PHOTOSBYJOEVELLA
Steel floor joists have webs which house
mechanicals and eliminate bulkheads.

much better” in higher seismic zones
because steel is ductile and tends to
move more without breaking.
One of the reasons steel framing
has not caught on more – besides the
cost and learning curve – is that there
are many negative preconceptions
about this building technique.
Some of these myths about steel
frames include:
• Noisier: “The less mass you have,
the less vibration you have. So steel
studs are actually quieter,” Vella
refutes, as evidenced by sound
transmission class testing.
• More likely to be struck by
lightning: Vella discounts this,
but adds that because the entire
steel frame is grounded with
straps into the foundation, even
if struck, there’s no fire, whereas
wood frames are prone to igniting
if electrical wires burst and cause
sparks.
• Will contract and expand with
temperature changes: He says
that happens sometimes, but is no
different than with wood trusses.
• Will interfere with radio, TV and
Wi-Fi signals: This is not an issue,
Vella maintains. “Between the studs
it’s the same thing.”
• Will rust: Not true, he says. It’s fully
galvanized aluminium with a zinc
coating, so when you cut the steel,
it’s self-healing and no rust forms.
Despite all the advantages steel
framing offers, Vella doesn’t see
this trend becoming widespread
anytime soon because of the
misconceived stumbling blocks. Still,
Fifthshire forges ahead with steely
determination.
“Not only are we pioneers, but we
still continue to sell our homes in steel.
We are very proud of the product and
all of our customers have been very
happy with it.” BB
Rob Blackstien is
a Toronto-based
freelance writer.
Pen-Ultimate.ca

The City of Hamilton was the first
municipality in Ontario to issue a
building permit for a six-storey wood
frame building in March of 2015.
Interestingly enough, this project was
a 209-unit Sandman Hotel property
and includes an indoor pool and two
restaurants. Since then there has been
a great deal of activity throughout the
province, with more buildings being
designed and built.
Within the OBC requirements, there
are some additional safety measures
needed for six-storey wood frame
construction v. four storey, including:
• enhanced automatic sprinkler
systems
• all balconies over 610 mm (2 ft)
deep must also have sprinklers
• exit stairwells must have a 1.5 hour
fire resistance rating and be of
noncombustible construction
• the building height is limited to the
top floor being no more than 18 m
above the first floor and 20 m above
the required fire access route
• all exterior cladding and roof
coverings must be noncombustible
fromthegroundup / DOUG TARRY
I
n a previous article I wrote about six-storey wood frame construction coming to
a community near you. As most readers will know, the Ontario Building Code
(OBC) was revised as of January 1, 2015 to allow wood frame residential and
office building construction up to six storeys, with additional fire safeguards such
as noncombustible stairwell materials and combustion-resistant roofs. Prior to
January 1, 2015, the limit was four storeys.
Six-storey wood frame construction requires extra safety measures.
WWW.ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

or combustion resistant
• large concealed spaces such
as attics must have additional
compartmentalization, even when
sprinklers are installed
• plumbing must be combustion
resistant
• at least 10% of the building
perimeter must have a fire access
route within 15 m of the building
exterior.
So there are some serious consi
derations for fire protection to protect
the occupants of these buildings.
However, there are also some
challenges to the processes of con
structing midrise buildings. So I
thought it would be of interest to share
a few of our experiences so far.
As a Part 9 low rise residential
builder, I have to admit that going in
I did not have a lot of experience with
everything involved in constructing
a midrise building. For this reason
we sought to put together a strong
team of professionals including an
architect, engineer, site engineer, legal,
marketing and general contractor,
so we could reduce the size of our
learning curve.
I have to be honest. It has still been
a pretty big learning curve. While we
settled on the overall building concept
fairly early, there is a great deal of back
and forthing over a variety of details
that a year later we are still finalizing.
In addition, we had no idea
going in how challenging the legal
documentation would be, let alone the
Tarion requirements. One particularly
daunting issue is not being able to
presell units without having a site plan
agreement in place. Now there may be
other builders out there who don’t wait
for a site plan agreement, and it would
not appear to be an issue if you were
building a rental residential building.
However, our legal representation
strongly recommended against this.
We did find the inability to do presales
a major challenge to momentum, and
if we had known this issue going in,
we would have likely marketed the
building as a rental residence.
Another major issue was getting
the site plan agreement completed. We
were amazed this process took more
than a year. So site plan preparation
and process is definitely an area we
will be looking at moving forward.
Even bringing a sales trailer on-site
turned into a monthlong adventure.
Ultimately to get approvals, we were
required to get a building permit that
required engineering costing thous
ands of dollars for how we were going
to support the trailer on-site. I don’t
know what other builders’ experiences
have been, but I have not yet found any
that had to meet this level of require
ment for a prefabricated building.
Nonetheless, we now have our sales
trailer about to open and our site plan
in place, our legal paperwork appears
in order and after a year and a half of
work, we are finally in a position to sell
units in our building, so we can actu-
ally build it. I’ll keep you posted. BB
Doug Tarry Jr is director of marketing at
Doug Tarry Homes in St. Thomas, Ont.

MORE THAN A ROCK
With residential building codes changing across Canada, you need an exterior
insulated sheathing that measures up. In the move from nominal to effective
R-values, ROXUL®
COMFORTBOARD™
IS provides a stable solution.
Vapour permeable, it dries easily even if the framing gets wet, guarding against
mould and mildew all while delivering an extra layer of thermal protection.
roxul.com
Find comfort in a world of change.

Thank you for helping us build a
more energy efficient Ontario.
We look forward to building the future with you in 2016.
From early design to construction, Enbridge is here to support and reward you with performance
incentives for constructing energy efficient, healthy and sustainable
homes beyond code requirements.
Learn more at
build.savingsbydesign.ca
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Better Builder Magazine, Issue 17 / Spring 2016

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Better Builder Magazine, Issue 17 / Spring 2016