“From a ferocious wildfire that ravaged a small Alberta town to a powerful twister that tore apart heritage buildings in Ontario, this year’s wild weather has been one of Canada’s costliest. The final tally won’t be known for some time, but insurance payouts for property damaged by severe weather have already climbed to nearly $1.5-billion, [...]
Entries Tagged as 'News'
Calls for Building Code Review in Calgary
December 2nd, 2011 · No Comments · Alberta, News
“Building debris caused by Calgary windstorm prompts call for building code review” Read the story at CanadianUnderwriter.ca
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CBC News: Home inspection laws urged to protect consumers
November 9th, 2011 · No Comments · National, News
“The case of a B.C. consumer who bought a home that required $50,000 in water-leakage repairs after the seller signed a disclosure statement and the home was inspected stresses the need for national inspection standards regulated by the provinces, some industry members and educators say.” Read the full article on CBC News.
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Alberta three decades late for Earth hour says Edmonton Sun
March 31st, 2011 · No Comments · Alberta, News
“The province hasn’t updated the energy efficiency requirements in its building code for 30 years. In contrast, by next year, all new buildings in Ontario must be constructed to the EnerGuide 80 level. That means things like R-20 insulation and more airtight houses. Alberta’s building code, last tinkered with in 1981, only requires R-12 insulation, [...]
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Help for Penhorwood Residents
March 21st, 2011 · No Comments · Alberta, News, Residential Housing
“The Liberals are calling on government to step up and protect homeowners from poor building practices in the wake of the evacuation of the Penhorwood Condos. Calgary-McCall Liberal MLA Darshan Kang says Municipal Affairs Minister Hector Goudreau has failed to introduce legislation to protect homeowners. Goudreau says he continues to work with his counterparts and [...]
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“Goudreau too glacial on building code”
March 21st, 2011 · No Comments · Alberta, News, Residential Housing
“The Alberta government’s own report on this issue nearly three years ago called for immediate action. But the province continues to fiddle while condos creak. The study, carried out for Alberta Municipal Affairs by Edmonton MLA Thomas Lukaszuk, warned: ‘The system of construction and inspection is not performing adequately to protect the home and condominium [...]
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City of Kelowna Considering Greening Building Code
February 24th, 2011 · No Comments · News
“The City of Kelowna is consulting local companies on possible provincial building code changes to encourage more environmentally friendly buildings.” Read more at: KelownaCapitalNews.com
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Edmonton Journal: “Interim code a best-fit for builders”
February 24th, 2011 · No Comments · Alberta, News, Residential Housing
“How many builders are exceeding code levels? All of them? Not likely. We acknowledge that the majority of builders in Alberta are building a quality product. I would agree that as many as 80 per cent of all builders far exceed the minimum code. But that still leaves over 5,000 of the 27,000 homes built [...]
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Code Delays Bad For Buyers: Edmonton Journal
February 13th, 2011 · No Comments · Alberta, News, Residential Housing
“Re: “Too much delay on building code,” Opinion, Feb. 4. I applaud The Journal for recognizing the importance of the province acting on its promises to adopt a warranty program and update the building code to adequately protect new home and condo owners. Continuous delays and the current standstill do not help Alberta home-buyers. On [...]
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Too Much Delay on Building Code – Edmonton Journal
February 9th, 2011 · No Comments · News
“B.C. learned from its construction crisis and brought in tougher standards and more protection for homebuyers. Ontario, too, has enacted high standards and better warranties for its citizens. But in Alberta, where boom-and-bust cycles are the norm, the province still has not mandated builders to provide new home warranties. It makes no sense that Albertans [...]
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