Tag Archives: retrofit

Retrofit Rebate Program Cut Early

Posted by Admin on February 1, 2012 None comments

Bad news for anybody who hasn’t signed up to get an energy audit done yet – you’re out of luck if you want to qualify for grants and rebates for making your home more energy efficient. Renovations like adding EIFS to the outside of your home will not only save hundreds (maybe thousands) on heating bills every year – but the government was previously giving you money to do so. The incentive for the government was obvious – less train on the electricity grid, which has experienced it’s share of blackouts over the past few years as thousands of new homes are built in the GTA.

While the program was supposed to run until the end of March, parliament shut it down early stating that it “has reached it’s target of 250,000 homes”.

The logic is questionable – if the program is such a success and Canadians are responding well to it, why shut it down?

Many home owners are deciding to update their homes through renovations in a number of ways. The cost to “go green” is slightly more expensive up front – but saves thousands in the long haul. Programs like the Retrofit Rebate Program help foot the costs to make homes more energy efficient, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It also makes the home more affordable by reducing monthly expenses, helping Canadians with their dream of home ownership. It’s almost as if the Government doesn’t care for it’s citizens’ quality of life, or the environment. If the Government doesn’t care for it’s citizens, what’s the purpose of it being in existence in the first place?

Lyle Shipley of the Canada Green Building Council alludes to the fact that the decision is “short sighted thinking” and that the program would eventually pay for itself.

Fortunately, those already in the program have until March 31st to complete the retrofits, and until June 30th to collect the rebates.

To be kept in the loop about any new upcoming grants or rebates, make sure to request a quote from us at Toronto Stucco Contractor.

Stucco Home Insurance: How Does EIFS Affect Insurance

Posted by Admin on December 14, 2011 None comments

Stucco (or more accurately, EIFS) is enormously popular on homes in and around the Greater Toronto area due in large part to it’s great aesthetic appeal and it’s ability to insulate, thereby reducing heating and cooling bills. It’s become a “hot topic” (pun intended) for insurance companies – moreso in the U.S. than Canada – over the past few decades because of problems if improperly installed. Problems which range from moisture intrusion and entrapment to the combustibility of it’s components and decorative accents.

Before starting any home improvement project, it’s a good idea to call your insurance provider to check whether or not it will affect your home insurance policy. Failure to contact them and update your policy when changing something as drastic as the exterior walls on your home could actually void your home insurance warranty.

Think about it… let’s say you retrofitted your home with stucco in July of 2012 at a cost of $12,000 and were happy with the contractor – he was polite, on time, did everything according to the contract and finished on a good note. 3 years down the road (it’s 2015 now) you have a building inspection completed for termites because it’s been an issue in your neighbourhood. During the inspection, the home inspector doesn’t find any termites, but notes that you have moisture trapped in your walls – around the windows, wherever. Remembering that mould is somewhere in your insurance policy, you contact your insurance provider who sends someone out to investigate and they’re shocked that your home doesn’t match what’s on the paperwork. Your insurance company won’t cover the damage any more, because what you’ve been paying for does not have EIFS-related coverage. Let’s take a look at some of the damages you’ve incurred:
- Insurance: 36 months x $200/month = $7200
- Removal of EIFS: $4,000
- Removal and repair of mould/moisture damaged wall section: $7,000
- Reinstallation of EIFS, done properly: $13,000
Total: $31,200

That’s $31,200 out-of-pocket expense that is related to your one forgotten phone call to your insurance company. Note that properly installed EIFS usually is slightly (give or take 10%) more expensive than the shmuck who cut his costs by cutting required material out of your home. Good luck finding him too – the average “stucco contractor” is in business roughly 2 years before closing it down and opening another or going to work with a friend.

If properly installed, and done in accordance to local building codes (following fire code where necessary), EIFS is a worry-free system that will last decades and save you thousands of dollars in heating and cooling bills. The trick then, is to find the right contractor – one that has a proven track record and can be vouched by manufacturers and previous clients. Services like Stucco Toronto can put you in touch with multiple contractors, are provide a neutral – 3rd party approach to your project.

The takeaway from this article is this:
1. Make sure you contact your home insurance provider to include coverage of EIFS, which may or may not affect your policy.
2. Compare quotes and get recommendations from suppliers/previous-customers, but don’t try to force a contractor to lower their prices to the point where they are going to cut corners – you’re the only one that will suffer in the end.

What Style is Your Home?

Posted by Admin on January 23, 2010 None comments

I frequently get asked what type of house a home owner’s is – and what decorative stucco elements fit best on it. Until now, I haven’t been enough of a history-building-styles buff to really have an answer. I came across this the other day, and found it illuminating: style home

There are so many different styles that it would help to have a general idea so that you can search for it, but the features listing of the home is very handy for identifying what style your home was built as. This can help you in maintaining the architectural features that suit your home when doing a renovation with EIFS – using the appropriate colors, and adding the appropriate style (and quantity!) of exterior trim.

In the Queen Anne for example, we know that the home is asymmetrical and therefore does not necessarily need to match identically on both sides of the house (in fact, this may look “off”!). We know that since the timber/shingle siding look is common, we may opt to add “reveals” (grooves in the insulation) horizontally along the wall, to match this effect.

Were you able to find your style of home on the website? What is it?

Rhode Island Dryvit Make over Winner Selling Home

Posted by Admin on December 12, 2009 None comments

This summer – a contest was put on in Rhode Island in which the grand prize was a home make over using Dryvit’s Outsulation System. The lucky home owner was thrilled (who wouldn’t be, when you just increased the value of your home by $70,000).

You can view the follow up here:

http://www.foxprovidence.com/dpp/rhode_show/dryvit-systems-remodels-viewers-home

And if you really want to, you can buy the home here:

http://www.chrisslocum.com/area/5-mill-wheel-rd-warwick-rhode-island-02886/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

Dryvit Systems remodels viewer home

Home makeover winner’s house revealed

Updated: Friday, 11 Dec 2009, 10:30 AM EST
Published : Friday, 11 Dec 2009, 10:30 AM EST

WEST WARWICK, R.I. (FOX Providence) – This summer, The Rhode Show held a contest on foxprovidence.com. The grand prize? An exterior home makeover from Dryvit Systems .

And just like that, Susan Malone’s Warwick home was on the path to a whole new look. Old, drab wooden shingles that surrounded the house would be stripped away, and the finished piece would look like a model home

“We’re going to make sure there is a nice weather barrier up there, and put some insulation on the outside,” said Barbara Catlow, Director of Marketing for Dryvit Systems .

That outsulation is what Dryvit Systems specializes in. With the new look comes an added level of comfort to the home. It keeps your home cool in the summer, and warm in the winter, saving in energy costs all while giving your home a face lift.

Dryvit contracted R&R Imperial Board Company of Warwick to do the installation, and the work began on the house.

“We took down the original wood siding on the home and we put up an exterior insulation system, insulated the home from the outside, and put on a beautiful new finish,”added Barbara.

“There was some challenges, but nothing we couldn’t deal with,” said Al Zabbo, Field Service Manager for Dryvit Systems.

And the beauty of outsulation is that the work stays outside, while you go about your business inside.

“We tried not to obstruct sue at all. We tried to stay outside and not make too much noise. But yeah it was virtually out of the house the whole time,” said Domenic Colombo, foreman for R&R Imperial Board.

Needless to say the home’s transformation has blown Susan away.

“I love my house! It’s just amazing the work that they did. So completely amazed that it came out looking exactly like the picture they had shown me. I couldn’t imagine it at the time and it’s just absolutely beautiful.”

Ron Phipps of Phipps Realty explained how a Dryvit remodel can significantly increase the value of your home.

“When this house goes on the market, it will be worth more money not merely because it looks a lot better, but because it’s going to cost less to the next owner to continue to own. So frankly it’s a home run, both on the maintenance costs ongoing, but also the overall value of the property,” said Ron.

And as one final piece to her beautiful home makeover, Dryvit did something extra special.

“Sue had a birdhouse that was kind of falling apart, the roof was off, and, we decided whatever extra material we had we were going to help the birdhouse out and re-clad the birdhouse and made it to match the house. Same color same design,” said Al.

Since the home received Dryvit’s exterior home makeover, it now appraises for $70,000 more, which is double the investment. And, energy costs have dropped nearly 19 percent, the equivalent of patching a hole the size of a soccer ball.

Blueskin on Windows: Why Is It Important

Posted by Admin on October 28, 2009 2 comments

Without a doubt, one of the most common areas of water intrusion on any building is around window openings. Improperly installed windows will allow water to leak in behind claddings and onto framing members, and when mould or rot appears, the cladding is often inaccurately blamed. The fact is that improperly installed windows will cause leakage and water entrapment on the framing of any building, regardless of the cladding.

It has been a point of contention on many projects – commercial and residential – as to who’s responsibility the proper sealing of framing around the windows is. The framers point to the window installers, who point to the cladding guys, who point back at the framing guys, and eventually someone is selected by the general contractor to do the work. A good portion of the time EIFS contractors I have worked with have been the ones selected. In reality, they are probably the most qualified to do this job. There’s an issue with this, but it’s not the topic of this article.

When I ask a home owner – who is replacing windows as well as retrofitting with EIFS – if the window installers have specified blueskin as part of their installation process, I typically get a blank stare. They don’t understand that 20 years ago, most builders had no clue that the window frame needed to be sealed. Some builders today still don’t. But when you’re taking the old windows out and replacing them with energy efficient windows, you have the perfect opportunity to protect your walls from water intrusion, which may lead to mould, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars in repairs. It’s actually something the home owners can do themselves if the window installers refuse or claim it’s “unnecessary”.

So here’s your quick rundown of the blueskin product.

This is what blueskin looks like when you buy it in a store:

Blueskin purchased from hardware store

Blueskin purchased from hardware store

Here’s the primer for the product, which you roll-on just like paint, before applying the blueskin:

Blue Skin Primer

Blue Skin Primer

Blueskin is a “peel and stick” product, meaning you peel the material from the backing and stick it on to your framing, like this:

Peel the blueskin from the backing

Peel the blueskin from the backing

And this is what blueskin looks like installed:

BlueSkin with primer around window opening

BlueSkin with primer around window opening

It’s somewhat reminiscent of wall papering, using much smaller pieces. You want to start in the middle and flatten it outwards, so as to avoid air pockets. Seams need to be overlapped 2″ (typically at corners) and you want to extend it down the face of the substrate (dens-glass-gold in this case, the yellow material) about 4″. The EIFS contractor will then come along, and overlap his weather barrier with the blueskin, entirely sealing your windows from water.

An alternative to BlueSkin (by Bakor corp.) is Soprema’s Sopraseal 1100T – which is essentially the same product. Your local hardware store should carry one or the other.

It is not an expensive step to add, or very complicated, to ensure your project is properly completed. If you’re replacing your windows – make Mike Holmes proud – do it right.