Buying the right shower shelves

Buying the proper chrome shower shelves.

This sounds like a simple thing right? Just drive down to your nearest big box store and pick up some chrome shelves and install them in your shower.

What you will find, if you do buy them from your local big box store is that in a couple years you will notice that they have started to rust. They will continue to rust until they have stained the inside of your shower.

How you ask? This is because cheap chrome shelves for showers are simply medal shelves with a chrome coating. Once the chrome coating starts to wear off then the metal will rust and will stain a nicely tiled shower wall.

What to look for? What you should be looking chrome shelving that is plated chrome and has brass as the base instead of just steel.

Where to find them? Not in a big box store. The first thing that you need to know is that they are not cheap.  There are a couple of places to find them; you can find them on the internet or a higher end home design store. The other way is to ask your contractor if they have a plumbing supplier, most plumbing suppliers will be able to find you them very easily.

Style? The style that they now come in is impressive. The more you research, the more options you will find, you don’t have to settle for the traditional wire shelves that you see everywhere.

If you spend a little extra money now, you will save a lot of money in the future. The reason that the shelving is so cheap from the big box stores is because they are made cheaply. You get what you pay for, so make sure you buy quality.

One of the best chrome shower shelves on the market is Smedbo. They have some of the most unique styles as well. Smedbo shelves are actually in my new shower. 

Remember do it right the first time so that you don’t have to pay a lot of money later to have it fixed properly.

Rob Abbott

Operations Manager

Village Builders Inc.

What is an organized custom home builder?

What is an Organized Builder
Investing in the design and construction of a new home is a daunting task, something most people do once or maybe twice in a lifetime. The last thing you need is a builder who doesn't have it together.


Why does that matter? Simply, homebuilding today is an increasingly complex endeavor, involving dozens of trade partners and materials suppliers, requiring compliance with building codes and other regulations, demanding financial savvy and tight management, and calling for keen attention to every detail. This demands a highly organized approach to the new home construction process.


A hitch along the way can have a big impact on quality, performance, durability and satisfaction ... or it can be mitigated or avoided altogether to protect your investment and give you peace of mind through the process and beyond.
The difference between these vastly different scenarios depends on how organized your builder is.
But what does an organized builder look like, and how do you evaluate a builder's ability to guide you through this time-consuming and sometimes confusing process?


There are several signs that indicate a professional builder's business acumen, organizational skills, and other capabilities that help ensure ultimate satisfaction with your new home.


Cleanliness. A clean and organized job site can often reflect a builder's overall organizational competency. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, a clean job site is safer for workers and visiting homeowners, reducing liability. In addition, materials that are properly stacked, staged, and covered reflect a concern for quality construction and respect for the budget and schedule.


Responsiveness. The number-one complaint among dissatisfied homebuyers is that their builder was slow to respond, or never did. By contrast, an organized builder understands the importance of being responsive from the first contact through completion and beyond.
Often, professional builders develop a process for responding to calls or emails from potential and current clients, usually within 24 hours. They articulate that policy upfront and follow it through to establish and maintain reliable expectations.


Protection. Professional builders don't allow themselves or their clients to be at risk. To mitigate and prepare for hazards, they are fully insured and -- if required by law -- licensed and bonded. And if you ask about those protections, they'll provide the necessary documentation and lead you to the proper agencies and organizations for more information.
In addition, an organized builder pays his subcontractors and materials suppliers from your job (and only your job) on time and per his contracts with those partners. He then collects lien releases once the contracts are satisfied (based on mutual satisfaction with the work performed) to protect you from having any liens placed against your property for unpaid services or products.


Passing the baton. If you haven't yet noticed, organized builders work to make sure their clients know what to expect throughout the building process ... including what happens after move-in and beyond the expiration of the builder's service warranty.


Professional builders know how and when to pass the baton for the care and maintenance of the house to homeowners. This is an incremental process that logically shifts responsibility over time rather than abandoning clients at the doorstep of their new home.
Warm Regards,

Doug Abbott
Village Builders




 This is an exert from a newsletter that is distributed to all former, current and future clients of Village Builders Inc. It is written by the President Doug Abbott. If you would like to receive this newsletter feel free to email me at www.robabbott@villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Common roofing construction terms 5

Common construction terms 5              Roofing

Have you have ever been on a construction site talking to your contractor and been totally lost in the terms that they are using? Well I’m here to help; here are some common terms that contractor’s use that you might not understand.

• Roof jacks. These are used by roofers to help stand on the roof, hold tools and stop material from sliding off. They are made out of metal and are in the shape of triangle with a hook protruding from the top. They also have a flat metal piece that runs about 1 ft away from the triangle; this is the part that gets nailed into the roof. The hook coming off the triangle is to hold the plank that the roofer will stand on.

• Cleats. This is a 2x4 that is nailed to the roof horizontally to provide footing for a roofer standing on the roof before shingles are installed.

• Asphalt shingles. This is the most popular type of roofing material, made from oil products and has an asphalt finish.

• Fibreglass backed shingles. New shingles on the market today come with fibreglass matting on the back to help increase the lifespan of the shingle.

• 3 tab. Refers to a type of asphalt shingle. This shingle has three separate taps that show on the face after it has been installed.

• Starter strip. This is a piece of thin metal that is placed at the edge of the roof; it overhangs far enough to cover the finished facia. It is installed first before any shingling is started.

• Ice and Water shield. This is a waterproof film that is self adhering to the plywood of the roof. It is usually applied at the bottom of the roof, up the valleys and anywhere a potential leak could occur.

• Cap. These are shingles that are placed over the top of the peak to protect it from water penetration and to give the roof a finished look.

• Roof vents. These are plastic or metal vents that are installed near the top of the roof to allow heat and humidity from the attic to escape.

• Ridge vent. This is a vent that is installed at the peak of the roof; the plywood is removed within a couple of inches each way to allow air to escape.

• Shingle over ridge vent. This is a ridge vent that is designed to have asphalt shingles installed over top of it to create a cap.

• Wet patch. This is liquid tar that is used to fill holes in shingles and cover any nail or screws to help protect from water penetration.

• Step flashing.  These are pieces of metal that are bent at a 90 degree angle and are placed where the roof meets a sidewall or a chimney. Each piece of step flashing is placed under a shingle and then overlaps the next piece of step flashing as it runs vertically up the roof.

• Valley flashing. This is the flashing that is installed in the valleys of the roof. They are pre-manufactured and come in several different colours.

• Shingle lift. This is a re-enforced ladder that has a winch attached to one side that raises a wooden or metal box up the ladder, this helps take shingles up to the roof instead of putting them on your shoulder and carrying it up the ladder.

• Shingle nails. Shingle nails are between 1 and 1.5 inches in length. They have a large flat head.

• Cedar shakes. This is a roofing material that is made from cedar; it is cut into a shake style and installed in rows overlapping each other.  They are installed from the bottom of the roof to the top like asphalt shingles.

• Shakes. This refers to cedar shakes.

• Enviroshake. This is a shingle product that is made from recycled materials and ethanol organic waste. It is made to look like cedar shakes and is installed the same way, but has a much longer lifespan.

• Steel roofing. This is roofing that is made from sheets of steel that have ridges in them on the vertical to help with cosmetics appeal and also give the steel strength.

• Rubber washered screws. These are the screws that are used to install steel roofing. They are a hex head with a normal screw shank. The difference is that they have a rubber washer under the head of the screw that gets compressed over the hole as the shank of the screw is inserted through the metal rib of the roof. This helps create a leak proof fastener.

• Slate. Slate is still used in some parts of North America. It is installed on roofs as individual pieces about the size of a cedar shake. It is made from natural slate stone.

• Boot. This is the rubber flashing that is placed over plumbing pipes and stacks that protrude out of the roof. It helps keep the water from running down the pipe into the home. It actually friction fits over top of the plumbing stack, the friction is what creates the watertight seal.

• Tied off.  This means that the workers on the roof have connected the safety lines to their body harnesses to prevent them from falling off the roof.

• Magnate. Roofers use a bar magnate that is on wheels, they role the magnate around the lawn and the driveway to pick up any stray nails.

This should help you understand what your contractor is talking about the next time you have a meeting with them. Look for part 6 of common construction terms, coming soon.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Common insulation construction terms 4

Common construction terms 4 Insulation

Have you have ever been on a construction site talking to your contractor and been totally lost in the terms that they are using? Well I’m here to help; here are some common terms that contractor’s use that you might not understand.

• Batts. This refers to the insulation that is installed between the studs of the walls.

• Pink. This refers to fibreglass insulation that is installed in the outside stud walls of homes. It is called pink because the product is usually pink in colour.

• Roxall. This is a type of insulation that is installed in between the studs of walls usually for sound dampening or as a fire barrier. It is green in colour and is made from burn resistant material not fibreglass.

• Vapour barrier. This is the plastic that is installed over the outside stud walls after the insulation has been installed in the walls.

• Super 6. This refers to the thickness of the vapour barrier that is installed over the outside stud walls. The 6 means that the insulation is 6mm thick.

• Acoustical caulking. This is what is used between joints in the plastic and on the edges to make an air tight seal.

• Blown in. This is the insulation that is typically installed in the ceiling of the attic. The insulation is latterly blown in from a blower truck that has a long hose attached to it.

• Tuck tape. This is the tape that is used over joints in the plastic instead of acoustical caulking to achieve an air tight seal. It is also used around light switches electrical boxes and anywhere you cannot achieve a proper seal.

• Red tape. Another name for Tuck tape, tuck tape is red in colour.

• Spray foam. This refers to the foam that is sprayed around windows and doors by a handheld foam gun or a foam truck for larger areas like roof areas and walls cavities.

• Hanging blanket. This refers to an insulation that is used in unfinished areas of basements. The insulation is encapsulated in a plastic bag allowing it to be attached at the top of the foundation. The insulation in the plastic bag (the plastic bag acts as the vapour barrier) then hangs down over the exposed concrete. This allows builders to insulate a basement without installing studs and vapour barrier.

• Polystyrene. This is a type of rigid foam insulation that comes in sheets that are usually 2 feet wide by 8 feet long. They can also have a lapping joint to give continuous insulation on the outside of framed walls. Rigid foam can be used in a variety of places, it can be lied under concrete floors and on the outside of walls. Rigid foam comes in almost any thickness that you desire.

• Blown wall insulation. This is the insulation that is blown into the wall cavities instead of using batt insulation.

• Moore vents. These are vents that are installed to the underside of the plywood to create airspace in the attic. The vents are installed from the soffit up past the insulation that is blown in on the attic ceiling.

This should help you understand what your contractor is talking about the next time you have a meeting with them. Look for part 5 of common construction terms, coming soon.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Buyer Beware: Avoid the Disorganized Renovator

Buyer Beware:          Avoid the Disorganized Remodeler

Investing in extensive home improvement can be a daunting task, something that most people usually do once or maybe twice in a lifetime. The last thing you need is a remodeling contractor who doesn't have it together.

Why does that matter? Simply, remodeling is an increasingly complex endeavor. It involves dozens of trade partners and materials suppliers, requiring compliance with building codes and other regulations, demanding financial savvy and tight management, and calling for keen attention to every detail. This demands a highly organized approach to the remodeling process.

A hitch along the way can have a big impact on quality, performance, durability and satisfaction ... or it can be mitigated or avoided altogether to help protect your investment and give you peace of mind through the process and beyond.

But what does an organized remodeler look like, and how do you evaluate a contractor's ability to guide you through this time-consuming and sometimes confusing process?

There are several signs that indicate a professional remodeler's business acumen, organizational skills, and other capabilities that help ensure ultimate satisfaction with your new home.


Cleanliness. A clean and organized job site can often reflect a remodeler's overall organizational competency.
Beyond its aesthetic appeal, a clean job site is safer for workers and the homeowners (especially if they remain in the house during construction), reducing liability and accidents.
In addition, materials that are properly stacked, staged, and covered reflect a concern for quality construction and respect for the budget and schedule.

Responsiveness. The number-one complaint among dissatisfied remodeling clients is that their contractor was slow to respond, or never did. By contrast, an organized remodeler understands the importance of being responsive from the first contact through completion and beyond.
Often, professional remodelers develop a process for responding to call or emails from potential and current clients, usually within 24 hours. They articulate that policy upfront and follow it through to establish and maintain reliable expectations.

Protection. Professional contractors don't allow themselves or their clients to be at risk. To mitigate and prepare for hazards, they are fully insured and -- if required by law -- licensed and bonded. And if you ask about those protections, they'll provide the necessary documentation and lead you to the proper agencies and organizations for more information.
In addition, an organized remodeler pays his subcontractors and materials suppliers from your job (and only your job) on time and per his contracts with those partners. He then collects lien releases once the contracts are satisfied (based on mutual satisfaction with the work performed) to protect you from having any liens placed against your property for unpaid services or products.

Passing the baton. If you haven't noticed yet, organized remodeling contractors work to make sure their clients know what to expect throughout the home improvement process... including what happens after completion and the expiration of the company's service warranty.
Simply, professional remodelers know how and when to pass the baton for the care and maintenance of the remodeled house to the homeowners. This is an incremental process that logically shifts responsibility over time rather than abandoning clients at the doorstep of their newly remodeled home.

Warm Regards,

Doug Abbott
Village Builders

 This is an exert from a newsletter that is distributed to all former, current and future clients of Village Builders Inc. It is written by the President Doug Abbott. If you would like to receive this newsletter feel free to email me at www.robabbott@villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Common Foundation construction terms 3

Common  construction terms 3              Foundation

Have you have ever been on a construction site talking to your contractor and been totally lost in the terms that they are using? Well I’m here to help; here are some common terms that contractor’s use that you might not understand.

• Poured wall. This refers to a concrete wall, usually the foundation wall. It is made out of concrete. Wood forms are erected and then concrete is poured in the middle of them. The wood is stripped away leaving a solid concrete wall.

• Block wall. This refers to a foundation wall that has been built out of concrete blocks. Concrete blocks are placed one on top of the other with a half lap (mortar is placed between each block) until you reach the desired height.

• ICF. ICF stands for Insulated Concrete Form. This is a Styrofoam block system, they are placed one on top of the other overlapping the joints until you have reached the desired height. Concrete is poured down the middle of the block until it is completely filled. The Styrofoam panels are held together with plastic webbing that stays in place creating an instant insulated wall.

• Footings. Footings are placed below your concrete, block or ICF walls. They are engineered to a certain size and dimensions. They sometimes have rebar installed to help strengthen them against heavy loads. They are also placed anywhere in the foundation that requires reinforcement because of point loads and bearing walls. Footings must be placed on undisturbed soil.

• Poured Floors. This refers to the concrete floor that will be poured in the basement or crawl space of your home. The floor is poured about 4” thick and usually covers all areas up to the foundation walls.

• Rebar. These are pieces of metal that are round and are a certain dimension like 10mm or 15mm in thickness. They are placed in concrete walls, footings and floors to help strengthen them and to help avoid major cracking.

• Expansion joint. This is a piece of plastic or a cut line in the concrete floor. This does not stop the concrete floor from cracking; it controls the cracking by giving it a place to crack, where it will not be seen.

• Vapour Barrier. Vapour barrier is installed below the concrete floor to stop any water from penetrating through the floor into the basement or crawl space. Vapour barrier is made of 6mm plastic.

• Super Six. This is another name for the plastic that they use for vapour barrier. It is because it is 6mm thick.

• Damp proofing. This is when the exterior of the foundation is sprayed with a layer of a tar product. This is the most basic form of waterproofing. It is the cheapest and is also the one that fails most often.

• Membrane waterproofing. This is when you either use rolled on membrane waterproofing or a sprayed on membrane that is installed on the exterior of the foundation walls. This is an excellent waterproofing acting almost like a pool liner to stop water penetration.

• Dimple Board. This is a plastic product that is usually installed on top of waterproofing to help protect it from stone or root damage. It also helps filter sand away from the foundation.

• Sump pump. A sump pump is a water pump that is installed in the basement. It is usually installed below the basement concrete floor. Its job is to move water from under and around the house outside and away from the building.

• Sump pail. This is a plastic pail that is placed in the ground below the basement floor before the concrete floor is poured. It is designed to have a sump pump installed in it. The pail is designed to fill with water and when the water reaches a certain level the sump pump removes the water from the pail by pumping it outside of the building through an exhaust pipe.

• Weepers. These are 4” plastic pipes that have holes in them (to allow water to seep in) and have a cloth sock wrapped around them to prevent sand and silt from getting in.

• Big O. Big O is the same thing as weepers just a different name. The job of “big O” is to collect water from around the foundation of the house and allow it to flow into the sump pail.

• Drain line. This is when you install a piece of Big O that runs from the edge of the house foundation away to a lower point. This creates a natural drain for water, allowing your sump pump to not work as hard. The drain line is usually connected to the house weepers.

• French drain. This is a drain that is created with gravel with filter cloth installed on the top. It creates a natural run off for water that is building up pressure around the house foundation.

• Sewage Ejection pits. This is a large pail that is installed below the concrete floor. It is a sealed unit and is installed when some of the plumbing in the house has to be installed lower than the municipal sewer lines.
The S.E.P. has a pump in it that pushes sewage up until it can freely flow into the municipal sewer lines.

This should help you understand what your contractor is talking about the next time you have a meeting with them. Look for part 4 of common construction terms, coming soon.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Being your own general contractor? Here are the signs to tell.

Have you ever driven past a new home being built, month after month you drive by the home and month after month there isn’t any significant change. The house keeps being worked upon and there seems to be no rhythm or reason to what they are doing. After what you think is double the amount of time that it should take to build a home people finally move in, they move in but the outside of the house is still not complete.

You wonder to yourself why and how?

There is usually a simple answer to the question and the answer in 99% of the cases is that the homeowner decided to act as their own general contractor.

There are certain things that you should look for when you are driving past a build site that will give the warning signs that it is a homeowner managed project and not a professional general contractor;

• No sign announcing which company is constructing the home.

• Weeks go by with nobody working on the project.

• Things being done to the home and then being redone.

• Poor quality of workmanship.

• Lack of order on the project, lack of cleanliness of construction material and debris.

• Lack of safety equipment being employed, especially the lack of safety harnesses and hardhats.

• Small quantities of lumber being endlessly delivered to the jobsite.

• A man or women standing in the drive way next to their SUV talking on their cell phone and looking very distraught.

• The project goes on so long that the house wrap on the outside of the building starts to tear and flap in the wind and is never really repaired.

• Multiples of the same trades parked in the driveway over the time the house is being built. For example over the several years that it takes to build the home you see three or four different plumbing companies that work on the project.

• Building inspectors are seen arguing with the same person standing beside their SUV while pointing at parts of the house and shaking their heads.

When you see these things remember not to feel sorry for the people building the house, they do not need your pity they brought this torture on themselves. The drive to save the small percentage that  a general contractor will charge you to oversee the building of your new home, drives them to think that they can become a general contractor without ever doing it before and trying to stay working at their normal job.

Building a house is only the largest investment that most people will ever make in their lives, why would anybody bother with hiring a professional!

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Don't skimp when you are going to renovate your home!

Don't Skimp!

It's good business to take a close look at the costs of any remodeling project. We work closely with our clients to trim any fat from their budget. We're always looking for strategies that may actually improve the finished house while staying within our clients' financial targets. We call this process value engineering.
But some cuts can go too deep. These cuts are different than value engineering, we call them skimping. Skimping is not an investment. When you skimp, you save a few dollars today only to pay more in the future. This category of cost reduction can compromise the performance of your remodeled home and put its value at risk.

But when is it better to pay a bit more up front to ensure that your project performs as promised and results in your complete satisfaction for years to come?

Much of what you should not skimp on is behind the finishes. Because you can't see or touch these components, understanding their value is critical. These include areas that save energy, protect against moisture damage, enhance durability, or reduce maintenance chores and costs. In almost every case, it's worthwhile to pay now instead of suffering the consequences later.

The Structure. It probably goes without saying, but the quality of the foundation and structural frame of your home or addition is paramount and should never be sacrificed for budget reasons.
A professional remodeler will work to optimize, but never compromise, whatever foundation and framing system is appropriate for the project.

Energy and Water Efficiency. The ongoing costs of home energy and potable water are rising and are likely to continue. It makes good financial sense to invest in systems and products that achieve comprehensive and reliable savings for these resources and their costs.
Vital components include properly applied insulation, high-performance windows, right-sized and efficient heating and cooling equipment, adequate fresh-air ventilation, brand-name appliances, and water-saving faucets, showerheads, toilets, and water heating systems. Consider including these items in the budget at the highest level of quality and efficiency you can afford.

Exterior Finishes. Your home's ability to defend itself against weather conditions from the summer sun, high winds and heavy rain is critical to its durability, maintenance and performance.
If replacing or adding exterior finishes is part of your remodeling project, resist the temptation to downgrade the roofing, siding, trim, and other components for the sake of saving a few dollars. As with your home's structure and primary systems, it's smarter to pay a little more up front for exterior finishes that stand the test of time and weather. In the long run, you'll spend less money and time fixing loose clapboards, repainting the trim and replacing the roof.

Drainage. The problems associated with a poor gutter, downspout, and rainwater removal system are legend ... and very costly. Worse, they usually aren't apparent right away. Over time, moisture damage caused by poor site drainage leads to latent defects that can undermine the structural integrity of your house.
A well-designed drainage scheme within a larger scope of a remodeling project effectively captures and directs rainwater off of the roof and away from the foundation. In this way water can't find its way and fester along the foundation, under the roof shingles, or behind the walls.
Materials choices vary, but trust your remodeling contractor to understand the dynamics of storm water management and provide your home with what it takes to deliver a dependable solution for your new home.

Flooring. There is no other surface inside your house that takes as much abuse as your floors. If new or replacement floor finishes are part of your home improvement plans, it makes sense to buy the best-quality carpeting, tile, wood, and resilient materials your budget permits.
In addition to holding up to foot traffic, spills, cleaning solutions, sudden impact and other hazards of daily life, your floors must retain their good looks to maintain your satisfaction and reduce repair and replacement costs as long as possible.

Finally, and perhaps most important, you should not skimp on your remodeler. If you are going to invest time and money in an extensive home improvement project, seek out and be willing to invest in a true remodeling professional. You'll be buying a treasure chest of skill, knowledge, and experience that will be well worth the price.

Warm Regards,

Doug Abbott
Village Builders


 This is an exert from a newsletter that is distributed to all former, current and future clients of Village Builders Inc. It is written by the President Doug Abbott. If you would like to receive this newsletter feel free to email me at www.robabbott@villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Should I install a security system in my new home?

Should I bother installing a security system in my new home?

In today’s world of custom home building, it has become common practise to install home security systems.

There are several important reasons for this, let’s start with the obvious;

• This helps protect your family from home invasions, giving you a faster response from the police when called by an alarm company.

• When there is a brake in and you are not home it informs the police that there has been a brake in, allowing them to have a quicker response time. When a house alarm goes off often times it is enough to scare burglars out of your home, usually before they have the time to brake or steal anything of real value.

• With video surveillance becoming more popular in security systems it is allowing police to get a positive ID on intruders, helping them make faster arrests. This prevents the same burglary coming back to your home and making a second attempt.
Here are some of the reasons that you probably didn’t know about the benefits of alarm systems;

• If you have a medical condition or live with someone that does you can have the system set up for a single button response for emergency medical response. New alarm systems can be linked to pendent’s that people wear around their necks when they are at home. The pendent has a button on it that calls for medical assistance if the person feels they are in a medical crisis. The pendent’s can even be set up so that if they drop in height quickly (someone falling over) then they will signal for medical assistance. You can also have panic buttons installed in any room in your house that will bring the police or medical attention depending on how it is set up.

• Some alarm systems can be set up for voice activation; this allows you to speak directly to a live person to help ascertain the nature of the emergency.

• With video surveillance in the home you can easy determine if there is a false alarm or an actual emergency. You can monitor the comings and goings of multiple people like children or housekeepers.

• If your not home and your house catches fire the alarm will signal the fire department to respond. With the information you give to the alarm monitoring company they will be able to direct the fire department on how many people live there, who they are and if there are pets in the house that need to be rescued as well.

• Alarm systems will monitor the temperature in your house. In the middle of the winter if the furnace fails and the house temperature drops below a certain point, then the alarm company can alert you so you can send someone over to fix the problem before your pipes freeze.

• Alarm systems can have a detector installed in the sump pail that will signal you or the alarm company if the water level in the pail reaches a dangerous level. This allows you to have measures taken to fix the problem, which will help keep your basement dry and water free.

• New alarm systems come with battery backups. This allows them to keep operating even when the power is out.

• New alarm systems run on a cellular signal to get the alarm calls out. So even if the phone lines are down or cut the alarm will still work.

• Having an alarm in your home can help lower your insurance rates in a lot of places depending on the crime rate.

• Intergraded alarm systems can be set up to change light levels in the house. This allows you to change what lights are on and what lights are off. They can also change the temperature of the house and even monitor if you have left the garage door open when you left for work that morning.

• The stickers that the alarm company puts on your windows and doors can usually be enough to warn off burglars or intruders.

• If you have pets in your home the alarm system can be set up so that no matter what your dog or cat does inside it wouldn’t set off the alarm.

• Your alarm system can be set up with multiple codes. This allows you to give a different code to different people. One code for the family, one code for the cleaning lady and another code for a repairman. This allows you to cancel the code that you gave to a person or tradesmen that is not part of your family without changing the code for your whole family. It also allows you to check with the alarm company if there is ever a problem with theft or damage and find out who was actually in your house at the time that the incident occurred.

Even if you don’t want to install an alarm system in your new home, it best to have the wiring roughed in before the insulation stage. This will give you the option of having the alarm activated at a later date if you decide that you need it. It also will help the resale value of the home in the future. The cost is only a couple thousand dollars depending on how elaborate you want your system to be.  That is a small price to pay when you are building a custom home especially if you compare it to what you would have to pay in the future to retrofit it into the finished home.

Remember that proper planning before you start your custom home is the best way to get what you want and an alarm system should be something you seriously consider.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

The Finn saw, the original multi-tool

The Finn saw, the original multi-tool.

Today every manufacture makes a multi-tool but there is only one original multi-tool the FINN saw.

Don’t let the name fool you, it does everything you need it to do.

The Finn saw uses vibration to do all its work, instead of spinning blades it osculates at such a high rate that the blade attached to the end of the tool will almost cut through anything. Depending on what you are cutting they have a different blade for that purpose. With the new Finn tools having a quick connect system changing blades or functions is now simpler and quicker than in previous generations.

The Finn multi-tool will sand large surfaces or small detail areas where regular palm sanders would never fit. Previously the only way to sand these areas around spindles or tight corners where by hand sanding which took effort, time and some skill. Finn sanding pads come in a triangle formation allowing you to insert the point of the sanding disk into the smallest of areas. To go from cutting to sanding you simply lift the lever on the top of the tool and the blade releases. You then simply put the triangle shaped sanding pad on in the direction that you require it to go. You then choose the grit of sand paper that you require, the sandpaper joins to the pad by Velcro and is easily removed and replaced when worn out.

The main reason that I recommend that you buy the Finn multi-tool over all the other brands is that all other manufactures models are copied after the original. Like true originals they got it right the first time, the Finn is the most durable and toughest tool still on the market today.

I had one Finn multi-tool go through a house fire where it ended up in a foot of water for more than 12 hours. When I retrieved the tool a week later I was worried that I would have to throw it away and buy another one. What I did do is leave the tool in a heated shop for a week to let it dry out. The tool when turned on worked perfectly right away, it worked perfectly for many years after that and only had to be replaced when the tool was over a decade old and had been abused by many employee’s in my company.
By then the tool had paid for itself many times over and owed the company nothing.

If you are looking for a multi-tool the Finn is the only one that I would recommend and the only one that my company uses. You may pay more for the Finn multi-tool at the start but it will outlast and out work everything on the market and make you money for years to come.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Know Your Stress Points: Preparing for an Addition

Know Your Stress Points: Preparing for an Addition

We appreciate that a major remodeling project will cause some increase of stress levels for our clients. Change always does, and a room addition or other large-scale project is no exception.

In our experience as a professional remodeling contractor, we’ve come to understand, recognize, and appreciate the stress of planning for and living with a big remodeling job.

One of our roles, in fact, is to help our clients manage that stress with a professional approach. Our goal is to minimize stress by eliminating surprises and keeping the lines of communication open at each stage of the remodeling process.

At the contract signing. The investment in a large-scale remodeling project is significant. Doubts and second thoughts at this "moment of truth" are not uncommon. At times like these, we find it useful to review our clients' vision for their project and help remind them of the improved quality of life their new addition will afford them. They've typically done significant legwork and research to this point and reconnecting them with the bigger picture is often just the ticket they need to gain (or regain) their confidence and move ahead.
At the start of construction. Before we break ground, we work with our clients to establish jobsite protocols and expectations to minimize the stress that our intrusion into their home life will inevitably cause.

For instance, we may not break through the connecting wall to the house until the last possible minute, minimizing our impact and keeping noise to a minimum. We designate a single path from the curb to the location of the addition to preserve and respect landscaping features and plants. We typically order temporary restrooms for our crews and subs. We set down runners and tarps so we don’t track debris through the existing house. And, we always leave a clean jobsite at the end of each day.

These steps go a long way toward enabling our clients to live their lives with minimal stress during the course of a lengthy remodeling project.

Near the end of construction. The finishing stages of any construction job are the most tedious, and with the end in sight (but still on the horizon), many clients get anxious for the job to complete. We don't blame them.
We find communication at this stage of the project to be very important and effective in keeping stress to a minimum. We make it a point to explain exactly what is left to be done, who they can expect on the job, and reiterate a firm date of completion. For the majority of our clients, this helps keep the stress under control and generally allows smooth sailing through the end of the job.

As a professional remodeler, a big part of our job is to make our clients' experience as smooth and hassle-free as possible. Recognizing common stress points and advising clients how to cope with them is a key ingredient to our success and our clients' ultimate satisfaction.

Warm Regards,

Doug Abbott
Village Builders
3 Caroline St. E.
Creemore, Ontario
Canada LOM IG0


 This is an exert from a newsletter that is distributed to all former, current and future clients of Village Builders Inc. It is written by the President Doug Abbott. If you would like to receive this newsletter feel free to email me at www.robabbott@villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

How can I speed up the building of my house?

 When having your custom home built, you the homeowner will affect the schedule more than the weather or your general contractor.

When you contract a builder to construct your new custom home, he will give you a schedule. What you need to realize is that the schedule only works if you (the homeowner) don’t slow it down. This might sound like an impossible thing for you to do simply as the homeowner but it’s true.

Most general contractors when putting together a schedule for your custom home build will try to take into consideration the normal amount of time it takes to build a home of the size, style and scope that you desire.
They also try to set a pace to the build so that you as the homeowner can have enough time to make all the appropriate decisions.

The more choices you are able to make before your custom home project starts, the quicker the house will be able to be built.

What causes delays is when there are key decisions that the homeowner has to make that will affect the progress of the house, but they are unable to make any or all of those decisions for a variety of reasons. A lot of things can happen when you are having a custom home built that you didn’t expect to happen. Here are just a couple of things that I have witnessed over the years that have affected home owner’s ability to make timely decisions;

• Health problems. Having a custom home built is a stressful situation for most people. This added stress can cause people to have health problems. Too much stress leads to all kinds of changes to the human body that can affect your mental state as well as your physical conditioning. Even if your health problems aren’t stress related, having your partner get sick diverts your attention and focus away from the task of making decisions that your general contractor has asked of you.

• Being overwhelmed with decisions. This is an extremely common problem for homeowners when having a custom home built. Most homeowners don’t realize they amount of decisions that they will be asked to make. The reason for all these decisions is it’s a custom home and that means that it is customized to you the homeowner. With customization comes questions and most questions have a timeline attached to them. If you haven’t taken the time to make the normal decisions like trim and floor coverings then you can end up overwhelmed when you’re asked to make decisions that you didn’t expect to have to make.

• Picking of products that are hard to get, not available or are over your budget.  Going over your budget on some items requires you to rethink your decisions or other items that are less expensive. You have to make all these decisions in a timely manner or you will cause delays. In today’s homebuilding world new products come on the market everyday and they disappear just as fast as well. When a brand new product comes on the market and everyone tries to buy it you end up with manufacturing delays, this translates into delays in the building process.  Unless the decision is made early enough in the building process so that the delay of the product is expected, you are almost guaranteed to end up with unwanted delays.

• The changing of your mind once you see the space. The second guessing of product choices happens routinely, especially when choices are chosen well in advance. This usually comes from watching a show on TV, looking at something in a magazine or seeing work that your friends or neighbours recently had finished. The old adage “the grass is always greener on the other side” rings true. The longer the time between when you made the decision and the time that it is installed the more chance you will have to second guess yourself.

• Budget overruns. A lot of times homeowners choose to upgrade their homes with options that are offered to them by their builder. These options were never planned for when you as the homeowner had the budget on the home assembled by your builder. A lot of homeowners don’t realize how much they have upgraded and the cost until near the end of the build when the money that they have set aside starts to run out. This then pushes them to reassessing their finishes, trying to save themselves money by picking a cheaper product at the last minute. What most people don’t realize is that one choice always affects another and changing one thing can have a snowball effect which can force you to rethink the whole space.

• Family or work problems. In life nothing goes the way that you think it will. When you have all your focus on one part of your life, life comes up and bites you in the ass. Family problems of any kind can distract you from the focus you should have on your custom home project. The biggest distraction can and almost always will be work, your work is the reason that you are able to build this house and so you have to try and divide your focus and energy accordingly.

When you receive your schedule from your general contractor make sure that you take the time to review it. In the schedule you should be able to recognize when you need to make certain decisions. If you have any questions of how much lead time your builder will require on decisions for products like tile or paint don’t be afraid to ask. A good general contractor will be able to tell you how much time they require for the ordering of material. You should be able to easily cross reference that time frame with your home building schedule.

Remember it’s your house, so it’s up to you to make the decisions on what you want the home to look like and not your general contractors. So make those decisions early and often and your custom home will be competed in a timely manner.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Downsizing of general contractors is having a negative effect on custom homes and the home owner experience

Downsizing in custom home companies is having a negative effect on customer experience.

In the past calendar year there have been many changes to the construction industry. What started out looking very promising in the residential custom home market has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.

This trend didn’t start in 2012; it actually started in the fall of 2011 and has continued into 2012.

Overall there seems to be less building and renovating as a whole in the market today. Fears of Europe’s collapse and the continued sluggish economy in the United States seems to be fueling fears across the border. People have taken up the position of waiting till next year to see what is going to happen.

This trend is forcing general contractors to scale back their operations in an effort to lower their overhead.

The upside to companies attempting to lower their overhead is that they are able to offer their services for a reduced price to perspective clients looking to build or renovate. The down side to this is that they will be offering less service to those clients.

With less service, clients will have to be more selective when they hire a general contractor. Today’s clients are increasingly more demanding and require a lot more communication then they ever needed or wanted before. If a client picks a builder that cannot offer them the service they require then the experience of having a custom home built could be an overly stressful one. When there isn’t enough communication between client and builder things get missed and costs can rise. This is a no win situation for everyone involved.

Downsizing of general contractors has seen them turn to an ever growing sub-contractor market. Sub-contractors are cheaper to hire then having your own employee’s and require their own insurance. The big problem with the usage of more and more sub-contractors is the loss of productivity and quality. When you are dealing with “subs” you have to work around their schedule, this schedule doesn’t always work with yours. Certain trades should not be “subbed” out but are in an effort to save money and lower overhead.

Carpenters are now starting to be hired as sub contractors instead of full time employees. Carpenters are the one trade that has the ability to oversee an entire project. They are the best way and the simplest way to keep quality high and production moving at its proper pace. Without that carpenter onsite a lot of things can easily be missed which will cost the homeowner more money in the long run.

There has also been a significant code change in the Ontario building code in 2012. This new code change is creating a great many problems for general contractors who do not have the staff or carpenters to learn the new regulations or take the proper courses. Only when they have the government building inspectors onsite to do an inspection are they learning about the mistakes that they have made. This is costing homeowners money and costing the general contractor delays. With the downsizing of general contractors more things are going to be missed because of the evolving building code.

When you are looking for a general contractor to build your home be careful that they have enough staff too adequately help you and support you. Communication is the best way for you to get your custom home built in the time, budget, quality and style that you want.

If you are looking for a general contractor with the support staff to handle all of your needs check out our website at www.villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.