Get your Home Ready for Winter Weather
Does the prospect of soaring winter heating bills give you the chills? You can slash your winter energy bills and prevent emergency repairs with these simple home maintenance tips.
Builder Insights / Blog
Category / DIY
Raised Heel Trusses Improve Energy Efficiency While Reducing Costs
Stringent new building codes require improved efficiency of building envelopes through better insulation. While more expensive insulation methods, like spray foam, may have greater R-values, it is possible to meet the required high R-values using less expensive fibreglass or cellulose insulation with a raised heel truss.
DIY Gone Wrong—Some Projects May Actually Lower Home Values
When it comes time to sell the house, homeowners sometimes opt for DIY fixes hoping to save on costs and increase sales prices. Sadly, many of these common DIY projects go very wrong and contractors have to pick up the slack. Badly done DIY projects can actually devalue homes as prospective buyers simply add each …
Saw Safety Refresh
Saws are one of the most common causes of injuries on construction sites. The National Institute of Heath reported over 30,000 table saw injuries last year. The medical costs resulting from these injuries were estimated to cost over $2 billion. Worse still is that many of the injuries to fingers and hands meant construction workers …
Are Triple-Pane Windows a Good Investment?
As efficient building envelopes become more of a priority for builders, you may be considering investing in triple-pane windows for the R-value they offer. The technology behind window design has improved in leaps and bounds as manufacturers attempt to overcome the poor insulation value that windows traditionally offer the home builder. Unfortunately, the improved insulation comes at a high price. Do triple-pane windows offer sufficient energy-saving to justify the investment?
Five most Time-Consuming Call-backs: Wall Systems
The dreaded call-back from an unhappy customer often takes up time and money that eats into your profit margins. However, successfully dealing with these issues can boost your customer service and improve word-of-mouth business. Turn your clients into raving fans with these call-back fixes.
Where Water Damage Hides
Building materials don’t like water. Often, by the time we see water damage, it’s too late and we have structural damage. You can get ahead of mold and mildew by regularly checking these areas to ensure you don’t have a moisture problem. This is especially helpful when buying a home—these sources of moisture may stay …
How to Grade the Installation Quality of Insulation
The efficacy of insulation relies entirely on the quality of the installation. In order to help grade installation, RESNET created a home energy rating systems standard. Here’s how a home energy rating looks at insulation installation as a part of the HERS rating system. A Home Energy Rating System (HERS) utilizes energy modelling to see …
Norbord’s “BECOME A FRAMER” Campaign Aims to Recruit Young Framers
Norbord is launching its Become a Framer outreach which is an evolution of its successful Thank a Framer campaign. Become a Framer aims to reduce construction labor shortages by creating awareness of the opportunities the trades offer. Become a Framer recruits young Americans directly by providing the resources they need to start a career in …
Programmable Thermostats; Do They Really Save Money?
Programmable thermostats do have the potential to save the homeowner money, but they can also cost more. The secret to success is the way in which you use them. Whether you are installing one in your own home or in a home for your customer, it’s imperative to educate users so that they are able to effectively save energy (and money) by installing a programmable thermostat.
