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Questions & Answers with Bob Deeks

In this insightful Q&A session, Bob Deeks discusses the most significant challenges facing the residential construction industry in British Columbia today. He highlights the rising costs, skilled labour shortages, land availability, and the impact of economic and regulatory changes, including stricter energy efficiency codes.

Bob also addresses the unique challenges in BC’s Sea-to-Sky corridor, the importance of airtight building envelopes, and how Airtight Solutions’ AeroBarrier (Aeroseal) technology is a game-changing tool to meet the BC Energy Step Code’s demanding air tightness requirements.

Below is a transcript of the video:

What significant challenges do you see in the residental construction industry in British Columbia?

Bob Deeks (00:08):

The most significant challenges that we see in the residential construction industry in British Columbia today would focus around cost as a number one driver. 

I think that that’s something that everybody’s very aware of. Recent statistics are showing that the cost of residential construction has gone up close to 60% in the last four years, and I think everybody is seeing that as they look at engaging with housing. 

And certainly on top of that, we are still suffering from skilled trade shortages, which are in part contributing to the cost as well as lack of supply. Land availability is a challenge, and then of course with the land availability challenge comes with increasing costs.

How have recent economic and regulatory changes impacted the building industry in BC?

Certainly, one of the things that is impacting the availability of housing and the cost of housing have been economic and regulatory changes that we’ve seen not only in British Columbia, but of course across Canada economically with increased interest rates that’s made people’s mortgages more expensive. 

And then we’ve seen an enormous amount of regulatory change in the last six or seven years with the introduction of new energy requirements for building code that have certainly added cost. We have the new zero carbon code, which is causing some confusion in the marketplace and also impacting cost. 

The learning curve has been very, very steep, and as people have to learn new things that causes delays and increases in cost, people do ask me, are there any unique challenges faced by builders in the sea to sky corridor compared to other regions in British Columbia? There are a few things. 

While Whistler and Pemberton are not hugely removed from the city of Vancouver, we do suffer a little bit from being a remote community in that our resources are a little more limited. 

We are also facing heavy snow load engineering solutions, which add cost on top of the seismic issues that the whole south coast of British Columbia sees. Beyond that, I think we’re all somewhat in the same boat in terms of rising costs and mortgage rates, but you will see that costs in the sea to sky corridor will be more than other parts of the province of British Columbia.

What does Airtight Solutions specialize in, and what challenges do they face in the industry?

Airtight Solutions specializes in repairing building envelopes, and whether it’s a new house or an existing home, the technology is specifically directed to sealing up holes in that envelope. 

And one of the challenges that we certainly do see from industry, the regulatory side as well as the building side, sometimes people look at AeroBarrier as cheating when it comes to repairing your building envelope. 

And AeroBarrier is simply another tool that a builder has in their toolbox to promote a more airtight building. And so we always need a primary air barrier solution, but when we’re trying to get down to those really tight numbers that higher steps in the step code require or passive house or net zero, really look at AeroBarrier as just one of those additional tools that you can use to repair all those pesky leaks that may not help you get to the air tightness target that you’re looking for.

Are there any specific challenges in using AeroBarrier technology in British Columbia?

So sometimes I get asked if there’s any specific challenges in using AeroBarrier technology in British Columbia. Not really. I mean sealing up a house whether we live here in Vancouver or Whistler or Toronto or Calgary or Saskatoon, that the strategies are all the same. 

The only big difference that we have in British Columbia of course, is British Columbia is the only province currently right now that has mandatory air tightness requirements. And so AeroBarrier is of particular value to builders in British Columbia because it is that toolbox that can bring a great deal of security and certainty to hitting those air tightness numbers when you go to get your final blower door test.

What are the barriers to entry for builders who might want to use Airtight Solutions' services?

The AeroBarrier technology in British Columbia is valuable to any builder building any type of mid to low rise wood frame construction. 

What we do see sometimes as a barrier for builders to get engaged with this is a lack of understanding of exactly how AeroBarrier works, recognizing that this is not some magic solution that is here today and gone tomorrow. It is a long-term durable tool that you have in your air tightness toolbox. And so certainly would encourage anybody who is not familiar with the technology to reach out strongly recommend this as a potential solution, particularly for residential construction that needs to hit those lower air tightness numbers below two air changes, or particularly if you are really trying to optimize your air tightness solutions and get down below one ACH. 

The easiest way to learn about this is simply to reach out and talk to us about how this might benefit you and your homeowners to achieve those better air tightness numbers, which in the end just results in better performance all around and better homeowner comfort BC’s building code and the regulatory environment that we find ourself in here really speaks to the advantage of AeroBarrier because of course, barrier is one of these tools that can really help you achieve those higher air tightness numbers that you need for those higher tiers of the BC Energy Step Code.

Right now, the province requires a medium level of air tightness step three of the BC Energy Step Code, which for most archetypes requires that you get down to 2.5 ACH in 2027. 

The province is anticipating going to a higher tier in the BC energy step code that will require lower air tightness results going down to 1.5. 

And so while typical solutions, particularly what we see in the marketplace around using plastic or six mil poly to double as both an air and vapour barrier can be effective at getting down to that 2.5 air change target as we go below 2.5 air changes, it can get more and more challenging to reach that lower number of 1.5 that we need for step four. And so I would strongly recommend that builders have a closer look at AeroBarrier because your primary strategy that you’re being successful with today may not be enough to get you to those changing targets in the next couple of years. 

And AeroBarrier can be a very, very cost effective solution as that added step to get to those higher numbers or those lower numbers with those higher tiers and to bring certainty to that final air tightness test that everybody needs to get occupancy in 2027.

How does the building envelope sealing process affect energy efficiency?

So I do get asked, how does sealing up the billing envelope impact the energy efficiency of my house or my building? And of course, energy efficiency is a little bit like a balloon in that if I have a balloon that has no holes in it, then I have no air leakage and I keep all the air in my balloon. 

And imagine the air in your balloon is either that warm air that you need to keep yourself comfortable in winter or it’s the cool air that you need to keep your family cool in summertime. And if I have a whole bunch of holes in my balloon, then all that conditioned air is leaking out. 

So one, I’m now spending more money conditioning that air, and two, I’m likely experiencing differences in the thermal comfort from one room to the next as one room leaks more air than the next room does. So really working on having that airtight building envelope will keep everybody more comfortable winter and summer, and it will reduce your energy costs.

How do you see the demand for airtight building envelope solutions evolving in the next 5-10 years?

As I noted a little bit earlier, we are going to see an increase in demand for airtight building envelope solutions as the BC energy code steps from step three to step four to step five for wood frame residential construction. Of course, as I noted in 2027, the province is intending to go from step three to step four, which will mean that we need to go from a metric of 2.5 air changes to 1.5 air changes. 

So we’re actually making our houses significantly more airtight, and then with the goal of moving to step five in 2032, we will be moving down to one air change. And of course, as we move to these tighter and tighter solutions, it becomes more and more difficult for builders to consistently comply. 

And so looking for solutions that are easy for the builders teams to adopt to that are relatively low cost and drive certainty to that final blower door test is going to become more and more important, recognizing that if you don’t pass your final blower door test, you’re not going to get your occupancy.

If you don’t have your occupancy certificate, you can’t move your clients into their new homes. And so AeroBarrier with Airtight Solutions becomes a more and more valuable option because it will drive certainty to that final test. Recognizing that the AeroBarrier dealers generally will guarantee that they are there as your partner to make sure that you pass that final test as long as somebody hasn’t gone along and drilled a whole bunch of extra holes in your building envelope. 

After the AeroBarrier solution has been applied as the building code in British Columbia and nationally changes, and as we talked about with the BC energy step code moving to tighter and tighter air tightness requirements, it will require that the builders in the province look to alternative solutions to hit those lower air tightness numbers and change is challenging. You need to teach your team how to do things differently.

You have to work with your trade partners in different ways and just want to make sure that the builders in the BC environment know that not only Airtight Solutions, but all the AeroBarrier dealers are available to come in and talk about how AeroBarrier can be one of those solutions that will seamlessly get you to those tighter requirements. 

As we head down the BC energy step code path and really come in and explain why this is a cost-effective solution to consider, particularly as we need to get to 1.5 ACH or one air change per hour, and why this can really help drive certainty to those final blower door tests as you finish your project and need to get those occupancy certificates to move your clients into their new houses.

What future trends in residential construction do you think will present new challenges or opportunities for businesses like Airtight Solutions and the building industry in BC?

The biggest future change or trend that we are going to see in residential construction in both British Columbia across Canada and worldwide are going to be codified requirements for improved energy efficiency. And one of the biggest impacts that you can bring to improving energy efficiency in housing is more airtight buildings. And so as the industry adapts to tighter and tighter building envelopes and the required ventilation systems that are required to make sure that those houses stay healthy, builders will be looking for better, more cost effective ways to drive air tightness that creates certainty for that final blower door test. 

And yeah, strongly encourage the building community and homeowners out there to learn more about the AeroBarrier technology that Airtight Solutions and the other dealer partners our offering across the province and across the country. Please don’t be shy. Reach out. Our team is available to talk through what is the advantage of this system over some of the other systems. Why do we feel that this is a cost effective solution that can really help you drive certainty to that final blower door test, particularly as we move forward in the next couple of years, the tighter and tighter building envelopes.

What advice would you give to new builders in BC looking to adopt innovative building practices?

The best advice that I can offer to builders in British Columbia as we are starting to adopt tighter and tighter requirements around energy efficiency through the BC Energy step code is look to solutions that are simple, that are easy to communicate, not only to the people that work directly for you, but for all your trade partners.

You need to look to solutions that drive certainty to this improving performance metric that we’re looking for, and you’re looking for solutions that are there to support you all the way through the process so that if things go sideways because people make mistakes, and in particular when we talk about air tightness in buildings, going back to my earlier analogy about a building being like a balloon, there’s lots of places for people to poke holes in it, and you need to be looking for a solution that seamlessly fills all those holes.

And so again, anybody has questions about what we feel is a very, very effective solution to fix holes and building envelopes.

Please don’t be shy. Reach out to talk to either Airtight Solutions or any of the other AeroBarrier dealers across the province

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