By Hugh Perry
Sustainability in roofing means the end of using products made from virgin material. Instead, the industry is moving to transferring existing waste into useable products that will continually be reprocessed and diverted from landfill sites. There are now products that have a high percentage of recycled content, some with life-long warranties.
by Jim Taggart
The renewal of this 125-year old small Victorian home presented a typical challenge in Toronto – altering and updating the existing residential urban fabric while preserving the historic character of heritage neighbourhoods.
by James Paul
This developer-built bungalow – an ersatz version of the classic West Coast post and beam style house – dates from 1958. Typically a house of this age and in this condition would be torn down for redevelopment. Instead, the house has been renovated and extended, and now acknowledges its true heritage while retaining economy of the developer’s original construction materials and methods..
by Hugh Perry and Jim Taggart
In our very seasonal Canadian climate, home designers, builders and homeowners have to balance the desire for large windows that give style, views and natural light with the need to conserve energy. This article reviews the essential things to consider in choosing and sizing windows for a new home, or replacing old windows.
Andrew Oding and Chris Higgins
In Issue 1 of SABHomes, we provided an overview of the new LEED Canada for Homes rating system for single family homes and multifamily homes up to three stories. In this article we will describe what builders and homeowners can expect when embarking on a LEED Canada for Homes project.
by Oscar Flechas
While there is a lot of talk about reducing fossil fuel consumption to mitigate climate change, the reality is that conservation measures are roughly proportional to the price that consumers pay for energy. So it is not surprising that in Europe, where energy can cost about four times as much as it does in Canada, that energy conservation standards for houses are far more stringent than ours.
by Christine Lolley
A sustainable home should first and foremost be built to last using high-quality materials. Its design must take into account site conditions and take advantage of passive solar design strategies.
This project began with a suburban infill site in an established downtown west end neighbourhood of Moncton characterized by generic production houses. The intention was to create a custom-designed family home that responded to the opportunities of the site and neighbourhood context, while using “low-tech’ methods to maximize the benefits of passive solar design, natural lighting and natural ventilation.
ready for the new era in Canadian homebuildingLEED Canada for Homes, launched by the Canada Green Building Council [CaGBC] in March, applies to single-family homes of any size, and to multifamily homes of up to three storeys [with a pilot for projects up to six storeys].
>>> Chris Higgins