Better Builder Magazine, Issue 43 / Autumn 2022

PUBLICATION
NUMBER
42408014 ISSUE 43 | AUTUMN 2022
Minto’s Annual Charity Home
To ERV or Not to ERV
Dealing with Radon
Brighton EnviroHome
Indoor Air Quality and
Occupant Health, Part I
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BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 43 | AUTUMN 2022 1
8
ISSUE 43 | AUTUMN 2022
Images internally supplied unless otherwise credited.
22
Cover and feature photography
by John Godden
16
FEATURE STORY
16
Charity Starts at Home(building)
Minto Communities’ long-standing partnership with an
Ottawa hospital to build an annual charity home has
been a real win-win for everyone involved.
by Rob Blackstien
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
2
Thinking Inside the Box
by John Godden
THE BADA TEST
3
To ERV or Not to ERV:
That is the Question
by Lou Bada
INDUSTRY EXPERT
5
House Depressurization
Standards
by Gord Cooke
BUILDER NEWS
8
A Breath of Fresh Air
by Marc Huminilowycz
INDUSTRY NEWS
10
How to Best Deal with Radon
in Ontario New Construction?
by Paul De Berardis
BUILDER NEWS
14
Sarah Margolius:
Brand Recognition
by Alex Newman
BUILDER NEWS
22
A Legacy of Building Better
INDUSTRY EXPERT
27
Better Air Quality, from
the Ground Up
FROM THE GROUND UP
31
Occupant Health – Part 1
An excerpt from the upcoming
book From Bleeding Edge
to Leading Edge)
by Doug Tarry
3

BETTERBUILDER.CA | ISSUE 43 | AUTUMN 2022
Thinking
Inside the Box
C
anada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been promoting
healthier homes for years. They have encouraged builders to embrace five
principles: (1) occupant health, (2) energy efficiency, (3) resource efficiency,
(4) environmental responsibility and (5) affordability. Meanwhile, LEED for Homes
has always heavily weighted the importance of indoor environmental quality (IEQ);
LEED v4 references a pick list of many features allowing builders to score high
LEED point totals for certification (see chart on page 28). And the Energy Star home
program in the United States has the Indoor airPLUS pick list, which provides a
marketing brand for builders for indoor air quality.
The interplay between occupant health and safety and affordability has been a
discussion in residential housing for almost 35 years, largely due to air tightness. The
central issue is that a healthy, more durable box (house) costs more money to build.
The very chemicals that make building materials inexpensive, and quick to market,
contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that adversely affect human health.
So what’s the answer? It has been my experience that the more educated builders
and homebuyers are about the building materials used in construction, the more
empowered both parties are to choose materials that assure occupant health and
environmental sustainability. It is the educated selection of building materials and
mechanical systems that results in a win-win situation. The builder can still turn
a profit, and the homeowner receives the value they are paying for. In production
housing, the builder makes all these choices on behalf of the homebuyer.
Minto Communities Ottawa is a great example of a builder that has embraced the
healthy home approach to building. Minto annually builds a Children’s Hospital of
Eastern Ontario (CHEO) house. This year, Minto is test driving Panasonic’s Breathe
Well marketing platform (page 16). We also have a teaser article introducing a low-
carbon laneway house targeting LEED Platinum (page 27). Both projects expose
homebuyers to healthy home features and upgrades through education, allowing the
homebuyer the full understanding of the benefits they are paying for.
On page 3, Lou Bada explores the dilemma of every builder: Should they include
features on the front end that cost them, or should those resources be held back to
cover warranty claims? Paul De Berardis reminds us of the growing concern of radon
in new housing and provides a simple explanation of the Code and how to navigate
this critical issue (page 10).
Key to the discussion of healthy homes is not only the materials we build and finish
them with, but also the systems we use to ventilate and clean the air. In “A Breath of
Fresh Air” on page 8, we examine the integration between ventilation and air filtration.
Gord Cooke explains the new CSA F300 standard on depressurization and how it
will affect airtight houses with large exhaust devices (page 5). And on page 31, Doug
Tarry defines IEQ in the first of a two-part article on how it affects occupant health in
residential housing.
As houses become more airtight and insulated, the clear way to proceed is to think,
design and build both inside and outside the box. Hopefully this issue opens up your
understanding by bringing a breath of fresh air to the healthy home discussion. BB
publisher’snote / JOHN GODDEN
2
PUBLISHER
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It should be no surprise that
homebuilders are highly sensitive to
market forces and (over-) regulation.
When I speak of regulation, it’s not
just changes to the OBC and energy
efficiency programs imposed by
municipalities (though they are
unpredictable and non-sensical
at times) – there are many other
regulations that affect us adversely.
Without going too far down
a rabbit hole, I’ll give one recent
example (and again there are many,
many more): Tarion has decided
A
number of years ago, while we
were crying over a few drinks,
Myer Godfrey of Yorkwood
Homes told me: “Lou, remember that
no matter how bad things are today,
10 years from now these will be the
good old days.” I have those words
framed in my office.
Well, eight years ago, in the fall
2014 issue of Better Builder, I wrote
about the value proposition of
installing a heat recovery ventilator
(HRV) in our homes. I tried to explain
the cost–benefit thinking in the
decision-making process of using an
HRV for homebuilders. Currently, we
are discussing upgrading from an
HRV to an energy recovery ventilator
(ERV) in our current construction.
HRVs are now virtually ubiquitous
in new home construction due to
recent Ontario Building Code (OBC)
changes. Does it make sense to spend
a few hundred dollars more for an ERV
in lieu of an HRV? In short: mostly yes
and maybe not. I’ll try to explain.
There is little debate on whether
ERVs are a typically better product
in terms of comfort, air quality and
energy savings (in our climate). I’ll let
other writers better explain how, in
terms of humidification and dehu-
midification, ERVs are worth the few
hundred dollars more than HRVs,
with little debate. They’re actually less
expensive and likely more effective
than installing a humidifier. (Of note,
though: the homes are getting tighter
and, often, the homes are multi-gener
ational with higher occupancies and
thus higher levels of humidity.) Despite
the positive cost-benefit analysis, not
all builders install them. Why not?
that builders are now responsible for
warrantying damage caused by ice
damming on roofs for seven years
as a “structural defect.” While the
problem of ice damming can be a
significant problem for a homeowner,
it was always excluded by Tarion for
repair as a structural defect because
it is a weather event caused by the
freeze/thaw cycle, which is sometimes
extremely difficult to avoid (with an
asphalt-shingled roof). This previous
warranty exemption excluded an
improperly insulated attic, which
3
thebadatest / LOU BADA
To ERV or Not to ERV:
That is the Question
BENEFITS OF WINTER ERV OPERATION
VERSUS
STALE 42º FRESH 62º
FRESH 32º STALE 70º
Site design, control and review
can lead to complex roof designs
that contribute to ice damming.
ICE DAMMING NEW TARION REQUIREMENT

schemes. NIMBYism is rampant. Our
products are unattainable for most
new home buyers.
The law of supply and demand is
immutable.
I understand builders won’t get
much sympathy in most places, but it’s
difficult to make good choices when
there are few to make. Voluntarily
adding costs to our product for
something few customers are asking
for is daunting. We have less and less
discretion in what, where, how and
when we build. We have little wiggle
room. Oppressive regulations lead to
some absurd outcomes.
Think of it another way: If we build
200 homes in a community and choose
not to spend $300 per home for an
ERV, we can save $60,000 on that site.
$60,000 will go some way in covering
us for the new ice damming regulation
imposed on us by Tarion, which
benefits very few. Doesn’t seem right.
I guess I can only look forward to
looking back nostalgically. I just can’t
see it now, as I couldn’t see it years ago
when Myer was consoling me then. I’ll
just have to trust him that these are the
good old days, someday. BB
Lou Bada is vice-
president of low-rise
construction at Starlane
Home Corporation
and on the board of
directors for the Residential Construction
Council of Ontario (RESCON).
would and should be warrantied. Most
builders already use ice and water
shield to mitigate the possibility of ice
dams in vulnerable places of the roof,
but it’s not foolproof. Ice damming
would also usually be covered under
a homeowner’s insurance policy (you
should check yours). This cost has now
been downloaded to builders for seven
years (thus some insurers benefit).
It gets better. The best way to
remedy ice damming – besides
ice and water shield and adequate
insulation – is to avoid building, for
lack of a better word, a complicated
roof with many unnecessary hips,
valleys and projections. In the
meanwhile, urban planners and
control architects, through agreements
with municipalities, are happily
forcing us to build more complicated
roof lines and add other unnecessary
and expensive elements to our homes.
Regulators often pull us in completely
opposite directions.
I digress. My point is that builders
are forced to do many things that make
little sense. Our homebuyers compel
us to add features like 10-foot-high
ceilings, hardwood floors and solid
surface countertops. Asking for nice
finishes is understandable when the
homes they buy are very expensive. We
wouldn’t sell many homes if we didn’t
do these things and this conversation
would be academic.
On the other hand, current market
conditions are deteriorating while
inflation is high and costs for labour
and material are spiraling out of con-
trol (think of a scissor graph). Govern-
ments have also chosen to increase
development charges and add even
more requirements, such as inclusion-
ary zoning for affordability (another
discussion to be had). Approval times
have gotten longer. We are subject to
contradictory zoning and planning
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The best way to
remedy ice damming
– besides ice and
water shield and
adequate insulation
– is to avoid building
a complicated roof.

More generally, there are three
primary issues or risks (and a few
inconveniences) associated with
depressurization of buildings by
exhaust appliances. The first and
most serious is the risk of backdraft-
ing of combustion appliances. The
second is the potential impact on
other exhaust appliances or even the
proper performance of the offend-
ing appliance itself due to the back
pressure of the building. Third is the
comfort issue of drafts and the heat
loss or gain of the infiltrating air
when an exhaust fan is operating.
Current building codes provide
some general direction and prescrip
tive measures to limit depressuriza
tion. For example, in the International
Residential Code (IRC) used in the
United States, if an exhaust appliance
with a capacity of over 400 cfm (cubic
feet per minute) is installed, then
makeup air shall be provided. In
Canada, limiting depressurization
has been dealt with in the ventilation
sections of codes and standards with
the primary focus on combustion
safety. Hence, in Section 9.32.3:
Mechanical Ventilation, different
types of ventilation equipment are
described for homes based on the
types of combustion appliances
installed in the house.
The F300:22 edition provides
better direction for builders and their
mechanical designers and HVAC
contractors because this edition
applies to new houses as well as
existing ones, while the first edition
was directed at existing homes only.
The major changes in this edition
include the removal of the −5 Pa
(pascal) pressure limit for solid fuel-
burning appliances (think wood-
burning fireplaces), but the inclusion of
carbon monoxide alarm requirements
for all solid fuel-burning appliances.
This should be helpful to builders and
HVAC contractors to avoid the need
for complex makeup air systems for
large exhaust appliances whenever
a wood-burning fireplace or stove is
installed; homeowner safety is ensured
by a carbon monoxide alarm rather
than relying on a mechanical air intake
system. The −5 Pa pressure limit stays
in place for other spillage-susceptible
combustion appliances – such as
natural draft water heaters, furnaces
and gas log sets – since the dangers
of backdrafting from these types of
appliances is more complex than
simply carbon monoxide.
To address the question about how
big is too big for a range hood in tighter
homes, the new F300 edition includes
a −25 Pa pressure limit during what is
referred to as the depressurization test
condition (DTC). Imagine the range
hood, the clothes dryer and the whole
house ventilation system (the energy
recovery ventilator, for example) all
running at the same time, competing
for air in the house. The experience
has been that building enclosure
pressures of more than −25 Pa result in
annoying drafts, hard-to-open doors
and transfer of odours from adjacent
suites in multi-family buildings.
Moreover, the exhaust capacity of most
5
House Depressurization Standards
industryexpert / GORD COOKE
Insulated duct with makeup air damper.
The screened vent terminates in the
mechanical room of the house and is
activated by a pressure switch in the
range hood vent duct.
R
ecently, the second edition of the CSA standard that provides guidance
on depressurization limits within houses was released. First published in
2013, it is formally known as the CSA F300:22 Residential Depressurization
Standard and, in my opinion, it will bring clarity to a challenge that builders
have been facing for at least the last 15 years: how big a kitchen range hood can a
homeowner choose when houses are getting tighter and tighter?
GORD
COOKE

6
residential exhaust fans – such as
bath fans and range hoods – are rated
at −25 Pa. If these fans have to operate
against the back pressure induced
by the house enclosure being under
a negative pressure, their exhaust
capacity will be reduced.
I recall a 30-storey condominium
project where I was asked to investi
gate a kitchen exhaust challenge.
All 300 suites were planned to have
special off-shore, grease-capturing
range hoods with a reported capacity
of 600 cfm. When these fans were
running in the relatively small suites,
the pressure difference between the
suites and the hallway or the outside
was in the order of 75 Pa. The actual
range hood capacity at this 75 Pa back
pressure dropped to just under 250 cfm.
There were two important results.
First, the 250 cfm was no longer
enough to meet the exhaust flow
specifications of the planned natu-
ral gas ranges needed to ensure safe
exhaust vent duct temperatures.
Second, the bath fans were unable to
overcome the 75 Pa static pressure
and actually ran backwards whenever
the range hoods were turned on. This
was an amusing oddity, but the safe
venting over the gas cook top was a
clear safety issue that needed to be
resolved. Fortunately, this issue was
discovered early in the construction
process and, in most of the condo-
miniums, the installation of gas
ranges was discontinued in favour of
electric ranges and range hoods that
were able to capture grease and cook-
ing odours at lower airflow capacity.
Within F300:22, HVAC designers
and contractors are given options
to use predictive tools to determine
possible pressure challenges or
in-field test procedures to verify safe
operation and compliance. Builders
who are doing regular airtightness
testing of their homes can use the
test results in both the pre-project
mechanical design and the final
compliance verification. For example,
the common metric when doing an
airtightness (blower door) test of a
house is air changes per hour at 50
Pa negative pressure (ACH50Pa). To
arrive at that metric, energy advisors
measure the volume of air in cubic
feet per minute (cfm) it takes to create
that 50 Pa pressure in any specific
house. Thus, we know the cfm at 50 Pa
(CFM50) and, using a simple formula,
an extrapolation of the air flow
required to create a −25 Pa pressure
can be completed. (There is an online
calculator provided by Residential
Energy Dynamics that you can use
to predict pressures at different air
flow capacities: www.redcalc.com/
depressurization-analysis.)
The actual formula is:
Allowable exhaust flow at −25 Pa =
Where n is the slope of the airtightness test curve determined by
the blower door software used. If you don’t know the slope of the
line, then using 0.65 for the slope is a common assumption.
Here is an example:
If you are building a 2,500 square foot house with an interior volume
of 30,000 cubic feet and you commonly achieve an airtightness level
of 1.5 ACH50, we can calculate/predict the CFM50 as follows:
= 750 cfm to create –50 Pa pressure
Now, use the allowable exhaust flow formula to determine how
much air would be required to achieve –25 Pa as follows:
Allowable exhaust flow = = 478 cfm
Therefore, if you have a dryer that exhausts 100 cfm of air and you are
using a balanced whole-house ventilation system (ERV), then a range hood
smaller than 478 − 100 = 378 cfm would allow you to meet the requirements
of the CSA F300:22 standard for intermittent depressurization.
You can adjust the formula for any desired pressure. For example,
the safe pressure limit when you have combustion spillage
equipment is −5 Pa. In the example house above, we can determine
the exhaust flow that would create a −5 Pa pressure as:
Allowable exhaust flow at −5 Pa = = 168 cfm
An exhaust flow of 168 cfm would create a −5 Pa pressure.
CFM50 × 25n
50n
30,000 × 1.5 ACH
60 minutes per hour
750 CFM50 x 250.65
500.65
750 x 8.1
12.72
=
750 CFM50 × 50.65
50.65
750 x 2.85
12.72
=

It is helpful to know that, within
the new edition of F300:22, there is
flexibility in assigning the −25 Pa
limit for exhaust flows. For example,
the designer could show that they
have specified or even verified in
the field that the range hood used is
able to operate properly at pressures
greater than −25 Pa. In the annex
section of the standard, there is a list
of 10 potential solutions offered to
remediate negative pressure concerns.
These solutions are appropriately
focused on resolving potential
combustion spillage. Included are
solutions for replacing spillage-
susceptible appliances with direct
vent-sealed combustion options,
reducing the size of large exhaust
appliances or providing makeup air.
Fortunately, the leading manu
facturers of range hoods (like Broan
Nutone) are responding well to these
concerns and now offer a series of
products that have makeup air relay
kits and optional dampers available
to facilitate the installation of makeup
air dampers.
The new CSA F300:22 Residential
Depressurization Standard is another
important tool as all new home build
ers need to resolve the challenge of
creating ever tighter homes to ensure
the durability, comfort and energy
efficiency of the homes they build
without compromising the health and
safety of homeowners or the choices
they wish to make with respect to
kitchen and laundry appliances. BB
Gord Cooke is
president of Building
Knowledge Canada.  
7
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The major changes in
this edition include the
removal of the −5 Pa
(pascal) pressure limit
for solid fuel-burning
appliances (think wood-
burning fireplaces),
but the inclusion of
carbon monoxide
alarm requirements.

8
Symak notes an increased interest
over the past two-and-a-half years in
ventilation as either a replacement to
filtration or as an added measure to
ensure healthier indoor commercial
environments. The acquisition of
Airia Brands and Lifebreath by the
Zehnder Group in early 2022 has
benefitted the 35-year-old Lifebreath
brand by making it part of a much
larger global enterprise, which will
grow the brand and its markets.
In 2021, Better Builder contributor
Lou Bada created a “Good Builder
Checklist for IAQ” (see the summer
2021 issue, page 3). From a builder’s
perspective, how does the Lifebreath
brand meet the requirements of this
checklist?
Energy recovery ventilator
(ERV) products
According to Symak, ERVs have
historically been reserved for cooling-
only climates. “Technology has
advanced to the point where ERVs can
effectively and efficiently operate in
cold weather,” she says. “In fact, many
Lifebreath ERVs are independently
certified to operate in cold northern
winters. For example, the Ontario
Building Code requires ERVs to be
tested at −25 °C at flow rates of 30 L/S
with a minimum sensible recovery
efficiency of 55% for use in Ontario.
Having an ERV in the winter allows you
to retain more moisture in the indoor
air compared to an HRV. This makes
an ERV a good option when you tend to
have dry indoor air in the winter.”
MERV-13 Filter and HEPA
Air Filtration
MERV-13 filters were adopted as a
furnace system add-on for COVID-19
virus mitigation in homes. Lifebreath’s
MERV-13 filter is designed for
protection from dust, pollen, mould,
bacteria and all airborne particles as
small as 0.3 microns. It is available as
an upgrade for most of the company’s
heat recovery ventilators (HRVs)
and ERVs. Lifebreath’s HEPA air
cleaning units ensure clean, healthy
air throughout the home, removing
99.97% of unwanted particles. They
allow for free air circulation without
putting any extra load on the home’s
air distribution system.
Symak explains: “Air exchangers
like ERVs remove indoor air (with
all its contaminants) and replace it
with fresh outdoor air. By doing so,
the indoor air quality is generally
improved. Filtration deals with
contaminants. While outdoor air is
usually cleaner than indoor air, there
are benefits to filtering the outdoor
air before it enters a building. What’s
more, filtering indoor air as it is being
circulated throughout the home can
work well as a parallel system to an air
A Breath of Fresh Air
buildernews / MARC HUMINILOW YCZ
Tony DiClemente, president, Aria Comfort Systems,
shows ERV and parallel HEPA air filtration.
R
emote work. Social distancing. Masking. Outdoors-only get-togethers.
COVID-19 profoundly changed everything in our daily lives. If there’s
one main takeaway from the pandemic from a building perspective, it’s
a renewed focus on the importance of ventilation and air quality in indoor
environments.
“While COVID-19 brought the idea of indoor air quality to the forefront of
people’s perception of their imme
diate environment, increased demand for
ventilation has been driven by builders who want to sell a healthy building,”
observes Karen Symak, GTA and Central Ontario territory manager for Airia
Brands, which owns Lifebreath Indoor Air Systems.
BET
TER
BUILDER

exchanger to boost indoor air quality.”
Good ventilation continues to be
a vital factor in the health and safety
of occupants in indoor spaces, as
well as an important component of
indoor air quality. And technology
continues to evolve to meet the
IAQ challenge. “As an IAQ pioneer,
Lifebreath is continuously developing
new technology,” says Symak. “Auto
balancing units and fault detection
are two current trends being driven
by the California building code,
which leads the way for better
buildings as a minimum standard.
We’re always ready to adapt to
changing codes, while also developing
technologies for future improvements
to IAQ management.”
With builders and contractors
“at the frontlines of the industry,
installing Lifebreath units and
communicating with end users,”
Airia Brands offers free Lifebreath
Academy training to educate them on
every detail of installing, balancing,
maintaining, troubleshooting and
retrofitting an air exchanger. Included
in the training are sales points to help
contractors better communicate the
benefits of high-quality indoor air to
homeowners. BB
Marc Huminilowycz
is a senior writer. He
lives and works in
a low-energy home
built in 2000. As
such, he brings first-hand experience
to his writing on technology and
residential housing and has published
numerous articles on the subject.
9
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“…filtering indoor air
as it is being circulated
throughout the home
can work well as a
parallel system to an
air exchanger to boost
indoor air quality.”

10
There are generally two options for
testing a house for radon: (1) purchase
a do-it-yourself radon test kit or (2) hire
a radon measurement professional.
The radon test kits include instructions
on how to set up the test and to send
it back to a lab for analysis once the
testing period is over. The cost of a DIY
radon test kit ranges from $40 to $50.
The Canadian guideline for
radon in indoor air for dwellings
is 200 becquerels per cubic metre
(200 bq/m3). A becquerel is a unit that
measures the emission of radiation per
second. The radon level in a dwelling
should not be above the guideline. The
only way to know your radon level is to
test and, if high levels are found, take
action to reduce it.
This issue has come to light once
again through the ongoing harmoni
zation process where the Ontario
Building Code (OBC) is being further
aligned with the National Building
Code of Canada. So, for those that
may not be too familiar with radon,
what exactly is it? According to the
federal government, radon is a radio-
active gas that occurs naturally when
the uranium in soil and rock breaks
down. It is invisible, odourless and
tasteless. When radon is released from
the ground into the outdoor air, it is
diluted and is not a concern. However,
in enclosed spaces (like homes), it can
accumulate to high levels, which can
be a health risk to occupants.
Radon gas moves through the
ground and escapes outside or into
buildings. Radon can enter a home
any place it finds an opening where
the house is in contact with the
ground: cracks in foundation walls
and in floor slabs, construction joints,
gaps around service pipes, support
posts, window casements, floor
drains, sumps or cavities inside walls.
All homes in Canada can have
radon gas in them, but concentrations
differ greatly across the country.
Radon concentration levels will vary
from one house to another, even if
they are similar designs and next
door to each other. No matter the age,
type of construction or where a home
is located, the only way to know the
extent of radon in a home is to test.
With my role at RESCON, our
industry association has commented
on regulatory requirements surround
ing radon requirements in the past, but
I’ve had no direct experience in testing
or mitigating radon. I thought it would
be worthwhile and interesting to use
my radon knowledge and took it upon
myself to test my own home (located
in York Region) to see what the level
of radon concentration would be. Not
knowing what to expect, especially
after hearing stories of builders
dealing with isolated instances of high
radon readings, I was fortunate when
my test analysis revealed a reading
of approximately one-tenth of the
200 bq/m3 guideline, thereby needing
no further action.
While my home testing revealed
minimal concentration, radon can
be dangerous to your health under
adverse conditions. Radon exposure
is the leading cause of lung cancer
in non-smokers. Prolonged exposure
to high levels of radon in indoor
air results in an increased risk of
developing lung cancer. The risk of
cancer depends on the level of radon
and how long a person is exposed to
those levels.
When it comes to the current OBC
and radon requirements, a building/
home in the following designated areas
shall be designed and constructed so
that the annual average concentration
of radon does not exceed 200 bq/m3
of air: the City of Elliot Lake in the
Territorial District of Algoma, the
Township of Faraday in the County of
Hastings and the geographic Township
of Hyman in the Territorial District of
Sudbury.
How to Best Deal with Radon
in Ontario New Construction?
industrynews / PAUL DE BERARDIS
T
he topic of radon has long been a contentious issue in the residential
homebuilding industry. Depending on who you ask and where you are
in Ontario, you will likely get a different answer from everyone on what
measures, if any, are needed to address radon.
The subfloor depres
surization rough-in is an
economical option as
radon levels cannot be
predicted in advance
of the completion of
a building, so further
measures beyond the
rough-in may never be
needed depending on
what testing reveals
after occupancy.

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CENTRE
OF
FLOOR
SLAB
RADON
SLOPE PIPE FOR
CONDENSATION
DRAINAGE
EXHAUST
PIPE
150mm DEEP GRANULAR
MATERIAL FOR A RADIUS OF
NOT LESS THAN 300mm AT
THE CENTRE OF FLOOR SLAB
100mm
12
While the OBC currently regulates
radon in only these three geographic
areas of Ontario, experience and
testing have shown other potential
hot spots in the province when
it comes to radon. Together with
regional public health units and
select building departments,
various municipalities have also
mandated the requirements of
SB-9 as part of the building permit
process. Developed by the Ministry
of Municipal Affairs and Housing
(MMAH), Supplementary Standard
SB-9: Requirements for Soil Gas
Control outlines various methods
of mitigating radon soil gas in
new homes. The three radon gas
mitigation options include a subfloor
depressurization rough-in, a soil
gas barrier or an active subfloor
depressurization system.
The radon mitigation options in
SB-9 all present viable options for
builders to address the potential
for radon should it exist above the
recommended concentration. Most
notably, the subfloor depressurization
rough-in is an economical option
as radon levels cannot be predicted
in advance of the completion of
a building, so further measures
beyond the rough-in may never be
needed depending on what testing
reveals after occupancy. However,
on the contrary, home builders have
become more aware and efficient at
mitigating uncontrolled air leakage
with improved air barrier details
and sealing practices, minimizing
uncontrolled air leakage in a home.
This combined with the OBC
requirements of the 2017 MMAH
Supplementary Standard SB-12:
Energy Efficiency for Housing, which
mandated heat or energy recovery
ventilators in new homes, thereby
providing consistent mechanical
ventilation of fresh air that can reduce
the potential for increased radon
concentration in a home. Like I said
earlier, depending on who you talk to
in the homebuilding industry, some
believe radon is not a problem and the
current OBC requirements provide
adequate mitigation, whereas others
believe the full gamut of SB-9 should
be included in every new home.
Getting back to what future reg
ulations may look like for radon soil
gas control under the harmonization
process, the proposal that MMAH
consulted is essentially the same as
the subfloor depressurization rough-in
option presented in SB-9. However, if
the proposal was to proceed as planned
under the harmonization process, this
would become a requirement for all
new homes in Ontario, whereas SB-9
is currently being mandated through
the permit process by select municipal
building departments.
While having a radon subfloor
depressurization rough-in will
prove useful if high levels of radon
are detected by a homeowner after
occupancy, the real challenge is that
the majority of homeowners do not
test their homes for radon and they
will undoubtedly be confused by the
stub pipe marked “radon” sticking out
of their basement floor slab. Requiring
the subfloor depressurization rough-in
is only one piece of the puzzle.
Much more homeowner awareness,
education and testing is needed to
properly address those instances
where high radon concentrations may
be present. BB
Paul De Berardis
is the director of
building science and
innovation for the
Residential Construction
Council of Ontario (RESCON). Email
him at deberardis@rescon.com
SB-9 mandated by some Ontario localities includes
a sub-floor depressurization rough-in as an option.
Requiring the subfloor
depressurization rough-
in is only one piece
of the puzzle. Much
more homeowner
awareness, education
and testing is needed.

14
buildernews / ALEX NEWMAN
“I wanted to address complex
issues successfully,” she says. “I
wanted to combine business, design
and futures methodologies to come
up with new strategies to solve
complex problems. The program was
really all about making life better for
people, and what I liked about it was
that sustainability was a core value.”
Margolius considers herself a
sustainable change agent, “passionate
about finding solutions and win-win
outcomes.”
And since 2007, she’s taken up the
cause professionally. With certifica
tion from the Project Management
Institute as a PMP, Margolius was
hired by EnerQuality (EQ) as program
manager for Union Gas’s Optimum
program, and then Enbridge’s Savings
by Design. While at EQ, she fell in love
with homebuilding and buildings in
general and launched the first Net Zero
Builder training program.
Earlier this year, Margolius joined
Panasonic, a company that is “actively
engaged in finding solutions. But at
the end of the day, it’s about meeting
human needs. We’re not just adopting
complicated technology for the sake of
meeting a target. Our new technologies
will meet – and exceed – it, but we
do it in order to satisfy homeowner
expectations.”
Those homeowners have grown
increasingly aware of environmental
issues and are especially interested in
indoor air quality, particularly since
the start of COVID-19.
“We’re constructing buildings
tighter as climate drives us more
indoors,” Margolius points out. “That
leads to a lifestyle change which
in turn alters consumer demands,
especially as people start making the
connection between what’s happening
inside and outside.”
According to a recent North Amer
ican survey on indoor air quality,
though, the housing industry needs
to catch up. “The study found that
the building industry consistently
underestimated how much home
buyers are concerned about air quality.
That’s starting to change, and we’re
doing our best to move that along.”
Her main message to the housing
industry today is that it is absolutely
within reach to offer homeowners what
they want: improved indoor air quality,
reduced energy consumption and
money savings, all at the same time.
That happens where innovation and
education meet, and when companies
with high brand recognition like
Panasonic collaborate with builders.
Its recent collaboration with Minto
is a prime example. Minto, which has
Sarah Margolius, Business Development Manager, IAQ (Indoor Air Quality), Panasonic.
Sarah Margolius
Brand Recognition
I
nspired by summers spent in cottage country, Sarah Margolius has always
been interested in the environment and its sustainability. In high school, she
co-founded an environmental action group. After graduating with a history
degree from McGill, she was part of OCAD University’s Strategic Foresight and
Innovation program.
DAVID
CHANG
PHOTOGR
APHY

frequently won Green Builder of the
Year, was appointed the construction
of the grand prize in the sweepstakes
to raise funds for the Children’s
Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).
The Ottawa-area home, aptly
named a Breathe Well Home, has
been a great vehicle to showcase some
of Panasonic’s newest technologies,
like the energy recovery ventilator
(ERV), as well as other award-winning
solutions for improving air quality
and reducing energy consumption.
“Ventilation aligns perfectly
with the charity, which is all about
children’s health,” Margolius
explains. “A healthy home needs
good ventilation. That’s essentially
the lungs of the home. Improving
ventilation guarantees improved
health outcomes by as much as 20%
to 50%.”
Builders have a few ways to meet
energy reduction targets and position
themselves for ever-tightening
building codes. There’s LEED
certification, Energy Star, Savings by
Design, Better Than Code and the
Home Energy Rating System (HERS).
While she’s very familiar with the
Energy Star and R-2000 programs
from her previous positions,
Margolius likes the flexibility of the
HERS ratings. In the United States,
Energy Star was created using HERS
before it came to Canada.
“There’s no doubt that Energy
Star is one of the most impactful
programs,” she says. “It has incredible
name recognition. The R-2000
program was good for builders because
they could take pride in delivering
efficient homes thanks to the cutting-
edge technology.”
But HERS, she finds, “is a great tool
which provides lots of flexibility. And
different builders can scale it to their
needs across different regions.”
It’s also easy to adopt and can
deliver savings. “What I like about
the HERS rating is the ability to try
something new that is a proven
technology. It will get us to our climate
targets but in a practical and cost-
effective way.”
Margolius points out that the ERV
is one of the most cost-effective ways
to reduce energy consumption and
improve air quality – and the HERS
rating helps builders understand the
variety of components that can be
included, such as the ERV. In fact, the
most efficient HERS homes almost
exclusively use ERVs, she says.
And it works well with the Better
Than Code approach, which looks
at saving costs. “The ERV is one of
the most cost-effective features,”
Margolius says. “It gives a great score
without a big cost.”
“When you start from the viewpoint
of meeting human needs, the rest
follows,” she says. Getting efficient
and reducing carbon emissions also
ends up saving money in the long run.
“But most important is it’s better for
people.” BB
Alex Newman is a writer,
editor and researcher at
alexnewmanwriter.com.
15
519-489-2541
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North American building
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Take the guesswork out
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“A healthy home needs
good ventilation.
That’s essentially the
lungs of the home.
Improving ventilation
guarantees improved
health outcomes by as
much as 20% to 50%.”

16
buildernews / ROB BLACKSTIEN
CHARITY
STARTS AT
HOME(BUILDING)
I
f karma exists, Minto Communities
sure has been banking its fair share
of the good variety over the past
couple of decades.
Since 2000, the Ottawa-based
builder has partnered with Children’s
Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) to
annually build the home that is raffled
off to raise funds for the hospital as
part of the Dream of a Lifetime Lottery.
For Minto – and the dozens of
partners, suppliers and trades that help
bring this house to life every year – this
endeavour is like a gift that just keeps
on giving. From the environmental,
social and governance (ESG) boost to
the charitable tax benefits, from the
public relations value and partnership
sparking to the opportunity to experi
ment and innovate with new building
Franklin Menendez, energy
rater and inspector (left),
with Justin Bouchard,
Director of Estimating &
Purchasing at Minto.

techniques in an effort to create low-
carbon products, the CHEO truly is a
win-win for all parties involved.
Minto has been a true leader
in sustainability for over 20 years;
in fact, it’s been building Energy
Star houses since the program’s
inception way back in 2005. As per its
website, the company is guided by
its values. These include innovation,
continuous improvement and
grabbing any chance “to make things
better for our customers, investors
and communities.” This is why the
company seeks opportunities to
donate to organizations that are
making a positive impact on their
communities, such as CHEO.
While three of the last four CHEO
homes have been Net Zero, Minto
opted to go in a different direction
for this year’s home, says Justin
Bouchard, director of estimating and
purchasing.
He says he’s learned a lot more
about Net Zero in recent years, and
the more he’s exposed to different
tech
niques like what he learned
through Savings by Design (see page
19), the more convinced he’s become
that a broader view of green building
makes more sense. While Net Zero
is mostly focused on energy, Minto
believes a strategy that factors in air
quality and water conservation in
addition to energy conservation is
the best way to go.
A more holistic approach
“We want to take a more holistic
approach to sustainability,” Bouchard
says. After all, he adds, “with energy
reduction nearly tapped out, we start
to get into the law of diminishing
returns, so this approach makes more
sense as we move into a more realistic
Net Zero-ready world.”
“You can only put so much insula
tion on the side of the house,” he says
with a laugh.
While Net Zero may still ultimately
be the end game, perfecting it will
be a process. “We’re not going to get
there overnight, so where are those
incremental pieces we can do every
year to [move the ball forward]? Maybe
one day we do get there, but there’s
got to be a bridge for us to get there,”
Bouchard says.
Gas can’t just be shut off tomorrow,
he says. But perhaps it can be used in
a smarter way – with heat pumps, for
instance.
Using fossil fuels intelligently
“Using our fossil fuels smartly is, to
me, the right approach to eventually
getting to Net Zero at some point down
the road,” Bouchard concludes.
Among the sustainability highlights
of the 2022 CHEO home:
• Panasonic EverVolt Black Series
solar panels;
• Panasonic EverVolt home battery
storage;
• Panasonic Breathe Well indoor air
quality system (see below);
• Hybrid gas/electric mechanical
system for heating/cooling,
consisting of: iFLOW zoned air
handler, Navien tankless water
heater, Comfort Star air source
heat pump and Panasonic Intelli
Balance ERV for ventilation;
• Water conservation features such
as: Greyter greywater recycling
system, hot water recirculation
line, low-flow water fixtures, drain
water heat recovery and front-load
washing machine;
• Insulation: R-10 under slab, R-24
below-grade walls (R-10 XPS and
R-14 Batt), R-27 above grade walls
(R-5 XP Insul-Sheathing and R-22
Batt) and R-60 attic (cellulose); and
• High-performance double-pane
windows.
Bouchard, a 14-year company
veteran who joined Minto straight out
of school and has occupied a variety
of roles with the firm, stressed that it
really takes a village to build the CHEO
home every year. Usually around 70
contributing partners are involved,
including suppliers, installers and
trades – most of whom donate time
and/or supplies to varying degrees.
“We wouldn’t have the CHEO house
if it wasn’t for all these different people
that contribute to the house every
year,” he says.
17
Minto Communities’ long-standing partnership with
an Ottawa hospital to build an annual charity home
has been a real win-win for everyone involved.

18
Bouchard says among this year’s
key sponsors are:
• BP, whose integrated, structural
wood sheathing/insulation is
employed on the exterior of the
home, and actually presented a
cost savings during the height of
the lumber market shortage, not
to mention a better-performing
product; and
• Enercare: a long-time Minto
partner which “came through big
on this project,” by donating some
of the mechanical systems for
this house, including the iFlow air
handler and tankless water heater.
The most important partner
But perhaps the most important
partner Minto had for this year’s
CHEO home was Panasonic, which
had supplied its WhisperValue
exhaust fan for previous versions of
Minto’s charity houses, but in 2022
raised its participation to a whole new
level – one that could very well spark
a much deeper alliance for the two
companies going forward.
Panasonic recently started mar
keting its Breathe Well campaign, an
indoor air quality initiative that Sonny
Pirrotta, Panasonic Canada’s national
sales manager – IAQ solu
tions, says
is the first of its kind. The campaign
– which includes a marketing com
ponent designed to increase consumer
awareness and provide education on
the importance of indoor air quality,
and channel programs for builders,
contractors and distributors – is
showcased prominently in this year’s
CHEO house.
Each program features its own set
of benefits, including loyalty rewards,
special pricing and marketing colla
teral.
Pirrotta helped spearhead the
Breathe Well campaign, which Pana
sonic began working on about six
months before the pandemic hit. It
was certainly serendipitous timing
as interest in improving indoor air
quality skyrocketed as a direct result
of COVID-19.
For the CHEO home, which will
be designated and co-marketed as
a Breathe Well home, the following
Panasonic air quality solutions (on top
of the other equipment listed above)
will be featured:
• Whisper Air Repair, a spot air purifier
located in the gym, recreation room,
guest room and all bedrooms;
• Intelli Balance 200 ERV; and
• Swidget controls for monitoring
and automation, located in various
locations throughout the house (see
“Behavioural Studies” in the winter
2021 issue, page 16).
This technology played a key role in
the 2022 CHEO home, which scored an
air tightness result of under one change
per hour with the help of AeroBarrier.
Panasonic’s differentiator
Pirrotta, a 20-year industry veteran who
understands the entire HVAC supply
chain given his experience working for
a contractor and a distributor before
joining Panasonic five years ago, says
it is probably the only manufacturer
that can provide a solution featuring
heating, cooling, ventilation, filtration
and smart controls.
While Whisper Air Repair – a
ceiling-mounted air purification
pod featuring Nano X technology – is
Panasonic’s most recent innovation,
the company will not rest on its laurels.
Navien tankless hot water heater with iFlow smart air
handler reduces gas consumption by 20% compared
to conventional furnace and hot water tank.
Franklin Menendez in front of Greyter greywater
recycling system. Franklin performs third-party
validation for HERSH2O and water savings.

Pirrotta says the company plans to
expand its ERV lineup soon, while
redesigning the Whisper Comfort so it
can fit better into stacked townhomes.
Within the next couple of months,
Panasonic will address builder
demand for more security features by
launching an HD camera module for
the Swidget.
While Panasonic is not known
as a homebuilder on this side of the
world, PanaHome Corp. has built over
one million houses in Japan, so the
company does have a sense of what
qualities a good builder should have,
Pirrotta says. That’s what makes him
sure that Panasonic’s partnership
with Minto is built to last: “We’re on
the same page in terms of what we
want to do for our customers.”
Bouchard echoes these senti
ments, stating that Panasonic is
“always there for us.”
What Pirrotta really admires
about Minto is their forward-thinking
nature and willingness to try new
things. This year’s CHEO home is a
great example of this, Pirrotta says.
Another example is leveraging the
Savings by Design program and the
Better Than Code approach. Like so
many prominent Ontario homebuilders,
Minto recently went through Enbridge’s
program for its Brookline subdivision.
And similar to virtually every builder
that embarks on this, Minto came
away inspired in many ways.
For instance, Bouchard says, the
company’s interest in home energy
modelling – something it had dabbled
with in the past – was revitalized. The
charrette was particularly inspiring,
with many internal employees finding
it very beneficial.
Networking gold
The meeting also proved to be a
Grade A networking opportunity, he
adds, as many of the people they met
there are now working on the CHEO
home this year.
In terms of new techniques learned
through the program, Bouchard says
some of the basement insulation
details are being deployed in this
year’s house, but mostly he expects
these lessons to manifest themselves
in future CHEO homes and the
company’s other homebuilding efforts.
Bouchard says Minto is doing what
it can to combat some of the key issues
currently facing Ontario homebuilders,
such as municipal overreach,
affordability and labour shortages.
Minto has also experienced
the increasingly common trend
of dealing with municipalities
that are demanding beyond-Code
requirements. It’s a dynamic that
many builders have been forced
to navigate involving prescriptive
guidelines that tend to box developers
in (see “Intriguing Developments” in
the spring 2022 issue, page 16).
The Ottawa market is not
19
While Panasonic
is not known as a
homebuilder on this
side of the world,
PanaHome Corp. has
built over one million
houses in Japan.
Panasonic EverVolt battery 11 kwh located in garage.
Backup power supply for future blackouts. System
stores off-peak electricity for peace of mind.
Left: Panasonic ERV 200 exhaust ducted to bathrooms
and controlled by Swidget timers and IAQ controls.
Above: Pansonic EverVolt inverter in mechanical room.
JOHN
GODDEN

20
immune as the city has enacted its
High-Performance Development
Standard. As always, what makes an
otherwise good-intentioned situation
frustrating for builders is “the lack
of consultation with the industry,”
Bouchard explains.
Still, he does understand what
local governments are trying to
do here and believes that some
good does come from this practice.
“Municipalities need to push
construction companies to do
better in certain regards,” Bouchard
concedes. He says the industry in
general can be hesitant to change,
and he’s experienced that situation
from time to time. But then there’s
that whole prescriptive thing that
we’re increasingly hearing about.
Builders require flexibility
“I’d like to have the flexibility to do
what I can to build the same house that
performs as well without having to do
it [their way],” Bouchard adds.
To address affordability issues,
Minto is trying to revamp some of
its products to introduce lower price
point types of houses “to support
that first-time homebuyer,” Bouchard
says. That’s where they’re seeing
“the dramatic drop-off” in sales, as
inflation is having less of an impact
on those who have significant equity
in their homes. The company plans
to introduce new products this fall to
target first-time homebuyers.
In an effort to overcome labour
shortages, Minto has shifted to prefab
rication of all three-storey products for
walls and floors, a technique offering
huge benefits schedule-wise, and one
which requires fewer framers.
The company is also banking that
its high school outreach programs to
help introduce students to the industry
will help spark interest in the trades.
They’ve also been working with one
school to build a tiny house to expose
students to the construction industry
“and get them hands-on training with
some tools,” Bouchard explains.
Go ahead and add more good
karma to Minto’s file. BB
Rob Blackstien is a
Toronto-based freelance
writer. Pen-Ultimate.ca
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22
buildernews / MARC HUMINILOW YCZ
You might say that home energy
efficiency is old hat for Brighton,
Ontario builder Gordon Tobey
Developments. In the early 1980s,
the company was one of Canada’s
original R-2000 builders – a decision,
according to owner Stephen Tobey,
that was partly the result of a sluggish
economy at the time. “The economy
was the pits, and we thought that
focusing on sustainable building
would be a good way to differentiate
ourselves from the competition and
turn things around. It was kind of like
going to church and finding something
that you believe in,” he says.
Since that time, Gordon Tobey
Developments has set the standard
for delivering energy-efficient, high-
quality homes to their buyers and
building a solid brand based on
holistic and sustainable practices.
The company’s efforts have paid off
over the years, garnering numerous
local, regional and national awards
– including from the Canadian
Home Builders’ Association, the
Ontario Home Builders’ Association,
EnerQuality, Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation, Tarion, Natural
Resources Canada and others dating as
far back as the 1990s – for the quality,
design, energy efficiency and customer
satisfaction of their builds.
“Housing awards are loosely based
A Legacy of
Building Better
O
ntario’s homebuilding industry has come a long way in making homes
more sustainable – so much so that our Building Code, with respect
to energy efficiency, is considered to be one of the most advanced in
North America. Meanwhile, municipalities across the province are pledging to
make their homes and buildings greener, and Natural Resources Canada has
introduced a tiered net zero energy-ready model building code, with the goal of
adoption by provinces and territories by 2030.
Gordon Tobey
Developments'
model home in
Brighton, Ontario.

on things like aesthetics,” says Tobey. “For us, it
has really been a matter of creating homes that are
designed well and making them energy efficient.
One begat the other. Take the use of natural light, for
example. It accomplishes two things – bright living
spaces and passive solar heating – with overhangs
designed to keep certain spaces cool in the summer
months. These design features help to create a better
product overall.”
According to Tobey, his company’s approach to
customer satisfaction begins with recognizing that its
buyers expect energy efficiency as one of the primary
must-haves in their home. “It’s much like considering
fuel economy as well as other features when buying a
car. With a home, there could also be a hot tub in the
mix,” he says, adding that customers enjoy numerous
energy-saving features as standard, such as sub-slab
basement floor insulation.
The energy efficiency odyssey of Gordon Tobey
Developments has been a journey of mutual
support over many years with leading insulation
manufacturer Owens Corning Canada. In 2000,
the collaboration resulted in the building of an
R-2000 EnviroHome in Brighton, Ontario, which
incorporated a list of energy-saving elements to lower
utility bills while creating a comfortable and healthy
living space. These included using Owens Corning
Pink Thermal Wall insulation, VOC- and toxin-free
materials, Lifebreath heat recovery ventilators with
HEPA filtration and hydronic in-floor heating.
“Our company and Owens Corning have always
supported each other. We like the product and its
durability on site,” says Tobey. “For example, their
CodeBord Air Barrier System that we use on the
interior of basement walls before they get studded
and insulated holds together better than any other
product. And, looking at the home as a system, Owens
23
“For us, it has really been a
matter of creating homes that
are designed well and making
them energy efficient.”

24
Corning provides valuable instruction
on how to put its products and
systems together to ensure long-term
performance.”
Gordon Tobey Developments is
committed to using Owens Corning
products in the construction of their
energy-efficient homes, which include
CodeBord wall sheathing, Pink
Next Gen Fiberglas batt insulation,
Pro Pink attic insulation, Foamular
sub-slab insulation and QuietZone
Acoustic Insulation. “Many of their
products are GreenGuard certified
for indoor air quality. Owens Corning
Pink fibreglass insulation has one of
the highest recycled content in the
industry, and that’s a bonus,” says
Tobey. He also appreciates Owens
Corning's brand visibility. “Our
cus
tomers recognize it, and that
makes them feel confident in their
purchase,” he adds.
Currently, Tobey homes offer
25% better energy efficiency than
Building Code, according to the
Home Energy Rating System (HERS).
With zero energy-ready being talked
about these days, does the company
have plans to build to that level of
performance? “We are continually
striving to make our homes more and
more energy efficient,” says Tobey.
“We may consider adopting the zero
energy-ready standard, but we’re
not concerned about the latest tech
buzzword, and we don’t necessarily
want to push something that may be
too much for our customers.”
“For us, it’s about the issue of
affordability and predictable utility
bills, which involves not only the initial
cost of an energy-efficient home, but
also the longer-term operating and
maintenance costs of the equipment,”
Tobey adds. “Our goal is to offer our
customers the biggest bang for their
buck – a house as a system, with dollars
allocated where they’re needed, and
the icing all the way across. I think
we’ve found the sweet spot.” BB
Marc Huminilowycz
lives and works in
a low-energy home
built in 2000. As
The EnviroHome Build
A cooperative build with Owens Corning,
November 10, 2000. From left to right
at the R-2000 EnviroHome in Brighton,
Ontario: Joan and Mayor Bill Pettigill;
Stephen Tobey, Project Supervisor,
Gordon Tobey Developments Ltd.;
EnviroHome owners Ron and Lucy Roy;
and Gordon Tobey, President and owner
of Gordon Tobey Developments Ltd.

T
here’s a home being built on a
vacant laneway in the Toronto
downtown neighbourhood of
Leslieville that is tackling indoor air
quality in a unique way.
As houses become more airtight
for better energy efficiency, the
air quality issue of radon gas – a
potentially toxic substance that
comes from the natural breakdown of
uranium in the earth – is becoming
more of a concern. The owners of
the Toronto property decided to not
only mitigate the radon threat, but to
also build a home to LEED Platinum
standard – a showcase of sustainable
building and the latest energy-
efficient technology.
“An opportunity presented itself
with a Queen Street property on a
laneway that we own, and we asked
ourselves, ‘What can we do with
this?’” says Jesse Davidson, principal
at Skye Mainstreet Properties Ltd.,
a Toronto developer whose core
business is main street retail property.
“So, we made the decision to create
something out of nothing and build a
house there.”
According to Davidson, the
decision to build to LEED Platinum
came from a meeting with Toronto
builder Barbini Design Build,
who introduced his company to
sustainable building consultant
John Godden of Clearsphere. “Our
eyes were opened up to the many
advantages of LEED building,
which costs more but comes with
numerous benefits that far outweigh
the costs: a superior product with an
envelope that’s 50% better than code,
marketability, huge support and state-
of-the-art products from suppliers and,
of course, a radon mitigation system.”
Amedeo Barbini, who is building
the laneway home, is no stranger to
sustainable construction. His company
has long focused on energy efficiency,
having built LEED and Energy Star
homes in the past, and incorporating
elements from its own 21-item green
building features list. The list includes
high-efficiency windows, sub-slab
insulation, superior air sealing, drain
water energy recovery, an energy
recovery ventilator (ERV), HEPA air
filtration, high-performance wall
assemblies, a heat pump hot water
heater, an energy monitoring system,
bamboo flooring and xeriscape
landscape design features.
“This project is unique compared
to other homes we’ve built, which have
been as large as 8,000 square feet –
it’s got solar and batteries, a superior
envelope, heated floors and natural
gas,” says Barbini. Running a gas line
to the laneway was cost prohibitive.
He says: “We’re using all state-of-
the-art technologies, including
Panasonic products and a sub-slab
radon ventilation system from Amvic
27
industryexpert / MARC HUMINILOW YCZ
Better
Air Quality,
from the
Ground Up
Good things come in small
packages: 3 storeys on a
25-foot-square building lot.
CHRIS
BARBINI

28
Building System integrated with
radiant floor heating. It’s a complete
holistic package moving the project
toward LEED Platinum.”
The Amvic system is integral to the
laneway project’s success in meeting
a prerequisite and garnering 18 LEED
points for indoor environmental
quality (see chart on facing page).
According to Patrick McMahon,
Amvic’s vice president of sales,
marketing and business operations,
consumers these days are becoming
more aware of two considerations
in the built environment: (1) the
building envelope and (2) radon,
which he says is a concern “pretty
much in all of southern Ontario.”
“The traditional approach to
sub-slab is gravel, then poly, then
concrete,” he says. “The Amvic
system we’re using in this project is
two-tiered. Our Amrad R12 in-slab
vapour mitigation and insulation
application allows for the building of
an insulated concrete slab that meets
radon Building Code requirements and
improves the indoor air quality. Its grid
pattern moves radon gas in channels in
the board, away from the basement to
the outside. And our SilveRboard high-
density, continual reflective insulation
on the inside of the foundation wall
improves thermal comfort.”
Davidson is excited about his
laneway project (which he hopes will
become the first of five such model
homes across Canada) and delighted to
be working on it with Barbini. “Every
LEED feature inside is state-of-the-
art,” he says. “With no drafts, constant
temperature, incredible air quality
and so many other benefits, it’s a
showcase for the latest technology. The
home carries the Panasonic ‘Breathe
Well’ moniker. Many suppliers, like
Amvic, Building Products of Canada
and Panasonic are giving us their best
products and their time to make it all
happen.” BB
Marc Huminilowycz
lives and works in
a low-energy home
built in 2000. As
LEED POINTS FOR HVAC (INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY)
CATEGORY POINTS COMMENT
ENHANCED LOCAL EXHAUST 1 SWIDGET
ENHANCED WHOLE-HOUSE VENTILATION 1 ERV
HUMIDITY CONTROL 1 MAIN CONTROL
PREOCCUPANCY FLUSH 1 AT BALANCING
GARAGE EXHAUST 1 WHISPER GREEN MOTION
MERV 10 FILTRATION 1 ERV
MULTIPLE ZONES 1 4 ZONES
DUCTLESS HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEM (SUPPLY AIR FLOW) 1 NO DUCTWORK
PRESSURE BALANCING 1 TEST
REMOTE ACCESS THERMOSTAT 1 PROGRAMMABLE 3 ZONE
ALL HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS ARE DUCTLESS (STATIC) 1
QUIET HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS 1 MEASURE DECIBELS
LOW EMITTING PRODUCTS (90% OR MORE)
A) PAINTS AND COATINGS 1 NO VOC PAINT
B) FLOORING 1 ENGINEERED HARDWOOD
C) INSULATION 2 STONEWOOL GREENGUARD
EA (ENERGY AND ATMOSPHERE)
REFRIGERANT SELECTION 1 R410A
REFRIGERATION MECHANIC PORT 1 ASHP COMMISSIONING
TOTAL 18

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product acceptance as continuous insulation for multiple applications.
For more information visit rockwool.com/comfortboard

So how do we meet these increas
ing complexities and still make a
profit? It starts with a better under
standing of what indoor air quality is
and how we can better manage our
trades and specifications.
Indoor air quality (IAQ) refers to
the air quality within and around
buildings/structures, especially
as it relates to occupant health
and comfort. Understanding and
controlling common pollutants
indoors can help reduce risk of indoor
health concerns. Health effects
from indoor air pollutants may be
experienced soon after exposure or
possibly years later.1
Indoor environmental quality
(IEQ) is an integrated study of an
occupant’s response to the built
environment – one’s ability to sense
and perceive quality of air, thermal,
sound, light, odours and vibrations. It
also includes a study of imperceptible
elements such as asbestos, radon or
carbon monoxide.2
In years past, the usual suspect
around poor IAQ was mould.
Generally speaking, customers react
more to what they see than what
they don’t. Mould can grow in a leaky
basement wall with poly over the
insulation, or from condensation on a
windowsill in winter from indoor heat
meeting cold glass.
Concerns surrounding IAQ were
on the rise prior to COVID-19 – not
just with mould, but also radon
and microscopic particles you can’t
see. Some were even becoming
concerned about volatile organic
compounds (VOCs). The focus was
mostly on carbon dioxide and some
known allergens but, here in North
America, we weren’t really paying
much attention to what we put on
our walls or what we constructed
our homes with, unless there was a
family member with a severe allergy to
specific products.
Since the pandemic, IAQ has
become top-of-mind for home buyers.
Besides the usual suspects, there’s
now a whole host of bacteria and
virus concerns we are bombarded
with in the media, which can feel
overwhelming. Arming ourselves with
some basic information will go a long
way to reducing the anxiety of our
customers and employees. The benefit?
A more satisfied homeowner.
Andrew Guido (formerly with ERTH
Homes) at EMPIRE Communities
in Toronto has studied the field of
household chemicals and our exposure
to them.3 For instance, the United
States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has banned only five
chemicals, while the European Union
has banned over 2,000. Andrew
notes that we are now exposed to
more chemicals in 30 days than our
grandparents were in a lifetime.
The four main processes for
improving IAQ were originally
developed by the Canada Mortgage
and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
several decades ago. They are:
1) Remove the pollutants
Selecting products to limit VOCs
and other harmful chemicals is a
critical step in reducing dangerous
31
Occupant Health – Part I
(Excerpted from the upcoming book From Bleeding Edge to Leading Edge: A Builder’s Guide to Net Zero Homes)
fromthegroundup / DOUG TARRY
W
e are being asked to build ever more complicated housing, both from
increasing Code requirements and rising client expectations that
include better indoor air quality since COVID-19. While aware they
want something better, customers often have difficulty articulating what they
want beyond a healthier home.
Since the pandemic,
IAQ has become top-
of-mind for home
buyers. Besides the
usual suspects, there’s
now a whole host of
bacteria and virus
concerns … which can
feel overwhelming.
1 United States Environmental Protection Agency. epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality#pollutants 2 Robert Bean 3 Reference research by Andrew Guido

chemicals. Occupant behaviour
and education can also play a key
role in improving IAQ.
2) Control the source
Air barriers, water-resistant barriers
(WRBs) and soil gas barriers (SGBs)
all play a role in limiting dangerous
toxins from either growing or
accumulating in the home.
3) Ventilate
Replacing stale indoor air with
clean outdoor air on a regular
basis greatly improves IAQ.
Cooking, bathing, pets, cleaning
products and other sources can
accumulate indoors.
4) Filter
A ducted mechanical system
can be used to capture the
particulate that floats in the air.
Use a minimum of a MERV 11
filter, understanding that both
ASHRAE and EPA’s Indoor airPLUS
recommend a minimum of a MERV
13 filter. Ensure your HVAC system
is designed accordingly to manage
the increased pressure drop.
Since the original CMHC guidelines
were released, the wider Canadian
homebuilding industry has done little
with this basic knowledge. In the U.S.,
however, dealing with radon has been
much more broadly accepted, and
numerous leading-edge builders are
enrolled in the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS
program, a great add-on piece for
their Energy Star Certified Homes
program.4,5
To truly provide an affordable,
healthy home, we must take a people-
centred point of view and focus more
on those who will live, work and play
in our built environments. To success
fully do this, we must transition from
healthy products to healthy people
– teach them why burning scented
candles, using a gas stove without run
ning the rangehood and plugging in air
fresheners can all contribute to poor
IAQ and diminished IEQ. BB
Doug Tarry Jr is director
of marketing at Doug
Tarry Homes in St.
Thomas, Ontario.  
32
4 Filtration and Disinfection FAQ (ashrae.org) 5 Indoor airPLUS Technical Bulletin Filtration (epa.gov)
1 epa.gov/tsca-inventory/how-
access-tsca-inventory
2 epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-
program/what-toxics-release-inventory
3 govinfo.gov/content/pkg/
CHRG-111shrg21160/html/
CHRG-111shrg21160.htm
4 i0.wp.com/sitn.hms.harvard.edu/
wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Slide2.png
5 entrepreneur.com/business-
news/4-principles-for-building-
a-100-year-home/389541
6 eeb.org/the-great-detox-largest-ever-
ban-of-toxic-chemicals-announced-
by-eu/#:~:text=The EU has banned
around,such as cosmetics and toys
7 gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2022/2022-
05-14/html/reg2-eng.html
8 sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/
documents/dsd/dsd_aofw_ni/ni_pdfs/
NationalReports/canada/Chemicals.pdf
86,631 770 200 5
Chemicals are
banned in the U.S.
We are exposed to more chemicals in 30 days
than our grandparents were in a lifetime5
Chemicals registered in
the United States1
~1,000 new chemicals added per year
Chemicals have been
tested for threats to human
health and safety3
3.5 years to complete risk evaluations
Chemicals monitored
through the U.S. EPA Toxic
Release Inventory2
The EPA has not banned a
chemical in over 30 years4
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
(PCBs) (1978)
Halogenated
Chlorofluoroalkanes
(CFCs) (1978)
Dioxin (1980)
Asbestos with more restrictive
limitations (1989) and then
partially overturned (1991)
Hexavalent Chromium (1990)
The EU has banned 2,000 chemicals in the last 13 years.6
In Canada, there are currently 26 substances (including
groups of substances) prohibited from the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale and import
under the Regulations of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).7
In 2006, Canada became the first country to have systematically examined approximately
23,000 existing substances known to be in commerce domestically at that time.8
ADAPTED
FROM
G
R
APHHIC
BY
ANDRE
W
GUIDO

“Energy efficiency
built right into the
heart of the home.”
Savings by Design | Residential
Visit enbridgegas.com/SBD-residential
to get the most out of your next project.
* Projected savings based on energy modelling simulations from the Savings by Design Integrated Design Process
workshop. Terms and conditions apply. Visit enbridgegas.com/SBD-residential for details. © 2022 Enbridge Gas Inc.
All rights reserved. ENB 822 06/2022
Success Story | Poetry Living
Angelo Moscillo, Director,
Low-Rise Residential,
Poetry Living
Bycollaboratingwith Savings by Designexperts,PoetryLiving
wasabletodesigntheirEllisLanehomestomaximizeenergy
andenvironmentalperformance.Improvedwallinsulationandair
sealing,high-efficiencywaterheaters,andotherenhancements
willhelpbuyerssaveenergyandlivecomfortably.
By the numbers
—
Projected annual
natural gas savings
26%
Projected
GHG reduction*
23%
Ellis Lane | Caledon, ON
—

Better Builder Magazine, Issue 43 / Autumn 2022

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