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The Cutting Edge

Message from the Fen-BC Chair

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Always looking for a way to add value to the membership we would like to introduce our new Affinity Partner Moneris! Please contact Anthony Temperato, IB Sales Consultant, National Sales Centre, 1.877.825.0361 extension: 4046 anthony.temperato@moneris.com to negotiate your best rates!

The Fenestration Association of BC is very excited to announce the appointment of our first Technical Consultant: Al Jaugelis, Fenestration Specialist with RDH Building Engineering Ltd. Al is no stranger to Fen-BC and WDMA and we look forward to having him share his expertise in this new role.

2013 has already been a busy year for Fen-BC. We held two seminars in January focusing on NAFS compliance and the 2012 Building code changes. Presenters included Al Jaugelis, Eric Skytte and Terry Adamson. The presentations were followed by a panel discussion including members from Intertek, Metro Testing and QAI. This format was well received and very informative for all in attendance. Codes are a big issue as was proven by the large turnout to this meeting and everyone that signed up, showed up!

Our second seminar in January covered the same topics but with a focus on the commercial products. Presenters where Al Jaugelis and Carmen Chun; with Erick Skytte, Leonard Pianalto, Alan Brown and Brian Hubbs on the panel discussion. Many questions were answered and yet still many remain.

Terry Adamson continues to work on building code issues with Government officials as many manufactures are not ready for the code changes. As issues are finalized we will keep the membership informed. Please be careful of rumors.

I have presented to both the residential and commercial associations in Kelowna with the local Building Inspectors to make sure both Manufacturers and Contractors are aware of the code changes. It is interesting to see that even the Inspectors have to use their own "interpretations" of the codes as some paths don't seem clear even to them.

The Board has been very busy in 2013 making many decisions for the new association and I would personally like to thank them all for their efforts. We look forward to the new website coming live in March and working with our new "Technical Consultant", we intend to keep Al very busy.

Did you hear about the glass blower who accidentally inhaled? He ended up with a pane in his stomach! :) 

Have a profitable month.

Debra Dotschkat
Chairman of the Board


Message from the FEN-BC Vice Chair, Residential

Well lets see......

Spring is just around the corner, 2013 looks promising, with plenty of optimism and a new building code, interesting will be an understatement.

Fen-BC has been very busy trying to bring as much information on the changing landscape to our members as quickly and accurately as we can. The accuracy has been a challenge with so many rumours flying around the implementation and enforcement of some sections of NAFS.

At press time we still had no clear answer on how building officials will work through the changes they are faced with. But I think it is fair to say that the changes are here and it is only a matter of time before they kick in all around the province.

There are many manufacturers that are well on their way to producing NAFS compliant windows and doors, and many others that are realizing they are now way behind the leaders.

So lets get to it. Change is never easy, and there will always be those that resist rather than embrace. Lets show the industry that Fen-BC members lead the country in product and innovation.

Terry Adamson, Westeck Windows and Doors
FEN-BC Vice Chair, Residential


Technical Committee Report

The past few months have seen very rapid changes beset upon the fenestration industry, including the adoption of the North American Fenestration Standard (NAFS-08), a new building code (BCBC 2012) and updated energy efficiency requirements from the province and the City of Vancouver.

The technical committee has spent the last several months carefully scrutinizing all these changes in the interest of providing assistance to the association and its members in being on the leading edge of the new requirements. It is more important than ever for window suppliers and glazing contractors to understand the new standards and codes to ensure compliance and costing efficiency. The committee has been on the forefront in preparing and providing presentations at the association seminars as part of this strategy to inform the members about all the changes and in particular, the NAFS standard.

Furthermore, we continue to work closely with municipal and provincial officials in speaking for the concerns of the association and in clarifying issues that may remain unclear. Finally, the technical committee has assisted in the review and hiring of the new technical consultant that will be of great assistance to FEN-BC. We reviewed the applications and forwarded our recommendations to the board for the best qualified candidate.

Our next and most pressing issue is to explore the issue of swing doors within NAFS standard and prepare a position paper representing the concerns of suppliers and manufacturers.

There remains much challenging work ahead but our committee will continue to strive towards educating the members as well as the design community and building officials as a whole. We will continue to be actively involved in all facets of these developments.

Thank you,

Eric Skytte, AScT
Chair, Technical Committee


BC Building Code and NAFS

It looks like there will have some extra time to prepare to meet the new building code requirements.

  • Code reference to entire new standard (NAFS-08) will be rescinded and delayed to July 2, 2013.
  • This will capture both windows and doors.
  • The "old rules" will apply to doors installed prior to July 2, 2013

PLEASE NOTE - THIS HAS NOT BEEN SIGNED BY THE MINISTER YET!


Glazier Red Seal Exam Preparation Course

This course was designed to assist our Glaziers to prepare for the Canadian Inter-Provincial Red Seal Examination for Glaziers. The course is based on the National Occupational analysis for Glaziers. The course includes an overview of all 3 levels of training. We have included 2 mock exams to provide some experience and confidence in writing the exam. This training is 100% virtual and will be delivered in the evenings. The instruction will consist of 12 online sessions of 2.5 hours per session.

For more information click here.

We will also be presenting this course to STEP (Skilled Trades Employment Program). 

We have also sent this information to ITABC for anyone who is looking for support in writing the Red Seal Exam.

The training schedule for 2013 is now posted on the website - click here


New Partners - Moneris

Fen-BC welcomes a new Partner - Moneris Solutions. For those of you who provide payments via Visa or Mastercard these rates should be very competitive. You can contact the person listed below to set up your account.

Anthony Temperato
IB Sales Consultant
National Sales Centre
[T] 1-877-825-0361 x 4046 
[E] anthony.temperato@moneris.com

More information


Save the Date for Golf 2013

MAY 16, 2013

The Annual Fenestration Association of BC Golf Tournament. We will be at Northview Golf Course again. It is such a great course no need to change. Watch for updates!!

Click here for Sponsor and Registration Information


Committees

We hope you will consider joining one of the Fen-BC committees. All the committees will need some help. Take a few minutes and consider joining - technical committee, marketing committee, membership committee, or maybe government relations is more your interest. Please contact Zana Gordon via email - zgordon@fen-bc.org or by phone at 604.855.0245 for more information.


Contact Information

PLEASE NOTE NEW CONTACT INFORMATION
Old phone numbers will be disconnected by December 15, 2012:

MAILING ADDRESS:
PO Box 565, Abbotsford, BC V2T 6Z8

PHYSICAL ADDRESS
101 - 20351 Duncan Way, Langley BC V3A 7N3

PHONE: 1.604.855.0245
FAX: 1.866.253.9979

EMAIL: zgordon@fen-bc.org


Coming soon - new websites

We are working hard at getting the new websites up and running. There will be 3 new websites ready very soon. 

www.fen-bc.org will be the website for Fenestration Association of BC
www.fes-bc.org will be the new website for the Fenestration Education Society of BC
www.fenestrationwest.ca will be the new website for the new magazine Fenestration West and our annual conference

The great thing about these new sites is they will be independent visually with their own design and concepts, but they will be connected technically for ease and continuity in change and information. More to come very soon!