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Lobbying efforts on HST

Legislative News

Spring 2010 $5.00

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Home Renovation Tax Credit Update

RCMs Conquer Both Coasts

Plus:Article Index 2008–2009

How to mitigate the effects of

mercury contaminationSustainable landscaping

Ontario’s Legislative Buildings, Toronto.

Cover Photo: Dianne Werbicki

Cover Design: Maracle Press Ltd.

ACMO MISSION STATEMENT

To enhance the condo ­minium management

profes sion in Ontario by advanc ing the quality

perfor mance of condomin­ium property managers

and management companies.

ADVERTISING DEADLINES

Summer 2010 — The Condominium

Balancing ActAds due May 7, 2010

Canada Post PublicationAgreement Number

40011809

IN THIS ISSUEACMO’s Board and Associate members have been extremely busy with complex issues that were raised by the introduction of the HST and the Home Renovation Tax Credit. Together with CCI-Toronto the joint Legislative Committee has actively lobbied the Ontario government to take into account unique condominium considerations and you can read about their accomplishments beginning with the special announcement on page 4. We applaud these joint lobbying efforts and the results that have been generated for the condominium community.

CM

FEATURES

4 Important Update on Reserve Fund Change Made by the Ontario Government By Chris Antipas, RCM, ACCI

and Armand Conant BEng, LLB,

D.E.S.S.

5 Lobbying Efforts on Behalf of Condo Community Remains at Forefront of Commitee Responsibilities By Chris Antipas, RCM, ACCI

11 Mercury Contamination Mitigated by Proper Handling and StorageBy Michael Colligan

15 Joint Efforts Clarify HRTC ObligationsBy Chris Antipas, RCM, ACCI

20 Breaking Barriers in Condominium CommunitiesBy John Moher and Bradley Chaplick

25 From Sea to Sea: New RCMs Help Expand Brand Awareness East and West of Ontario

29 Don’t Risk Litigation to get Quick and Easy Energy SavingsBy Jeff Truman, PEng and Jim Bunting

32 RCM Mini-Profiles —In Their Own Words

35 Sustainable LandscapingBy Nathan Helder

38 Permanent Roofing Solutions Using Recycled TiresBy Martin Ingham

C O N D O M I N I U M   M A N A G E R

ONTARIO’S LARGEST CIRCULATION PROPERTY MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE: 13,500+ QUARTERLY

VOLUME 32, NO. 1 SPRING 2010

ON THE COVER

41 Condominium Manager — Article Index 2009-2010

DEPARTMENTS

45 DECISIONS FROM THE COURTS: The Court’s Impact on Your Condominium CorporationBy Brian Horlick, LLB

50 LAW LIGHTS: Passing the Bylaw Requirements and StrategiesBy John A.A. Deacon

54 ASK THE PROS: Carpeting or Wood — What are the Benefits?By ACMO Associate Members

56 WASTE MANAGEMENT BYLAW REVISION: Redefining Garbage Chute UseBy Doug King

57 CCI Chapter ReportsBy Trish Kaplan, Karen Reynolds, Alison Nash, Andrea Theilk and Lynn Morrovat

66 HE SAID/SHE SAID: Let the Children PlayBy Patricia Elia and Richard Elia

64 LIST OF ADVERTISERS

■  38   ■  CM CONDOMIN IUM MANAGER MAGAZINE,  SPR ING 2010

ONE OF the more important innovations in the roofing business in recent years has been the devel-opment of rubber roofing profiles. Manufactured principally from re-cycled tires and plastics the average 2500 sq ft home consumes between 600–1000 tires for every roof cov-ered. With between 10–12 million tires discarded every year in On-tario, this roofing innovation and the introduction of similar recycled products means thousands of tires can be diverted from landfill sites. So efficient are these developments in recycling that there is even a tempo-rary shortage of processing capacity in Ontario.

When considering a permanent roofing solution, it is important to understand the many benefits that all permanent roofing solutions of-fer over and above the historical and conventional choice of asphalt, which represents over 85 per cent market share in North America.

By Martin Ingham

INNOVATIONS IN ROOFING Rubber versus Shingles

Permanent Roofing Solutions UsingRecycled Tires

CM CONDOMIN IUM MANAGER MAGAZINE,  SPR ING 2010  ■  39   ■

■ Life Cycle and Warranties

It is important to realize that as-phalt shingles have a life cycle that can last in many instances less than 10 years. Rubber, metal, concrete tiles and aluminum are all considered to be much superior to asphalt and in support of that fact all manufacturers will offer warranties of between 40–50 years. It should be pointed out how-ever that the terms of the warranties need to be carefully scrutinized to ensure that they offer relevant protec-tions, which is not always the case.

Of particular interest is the con-sideration of a prorated warranty, which by definition covers only the time left versus a non-prorated war-ranty, which allows for total materi-al cost replacement up to the end of the warranty period. Also check the fine print on whether the warranty is transferable and if there are any charges associated with the trans-fer since some manufacturers will charge for this and failure to comply will invalidate their warranty.

■ Stylish and PracticalRubber roof profiles cover vari-

ous styles from cedar shake look-alikes to tile and slate, which after installation are virtually impossible to differentiate from the original. Rubber roofs have been tested to the standards of Miami Dade Hurricane testing of 150 miles per hour, offer hail resistance and class C fire rating and will support walking on when necessary without problems.

■ Cost ConsiderationsThe cost of installing a rubber roof

is usually one of the most important components of any decision both for new and reroof situations. Typically asphalt shingles are considered to be the least expensive roofing material to install in the North American market and at first glance they do represent the cheapest alternative. As a guide-line it is considered to be fair to use the factor that the installed price of a rub-ber roof will approximate to just over twice the price of asphalt but will last well over 4–6 times as long therefore giving two to three times the value.

The various designations of 25,30, 40 and 50–year shingles are in them-

selves a very misleading and decep-tive designation that gives many people the impression that this repre-sents the lifecycle expectation of the product. Nothing could be further from the truth and many customers report a declining life from shingles

companies are Euroshield and Enviro-shake and their product selection can be viewed on the following websites and contain detailed and compre-hensive information that will answer most of the questions which may be asked. They are www.euroshieldroof-ing.com and www.enviroshake.com

With regard to choice of installers both manufacturers will give a list of approved installers on their respective websites although in the case of Envi-roshake the product can be purchased through a number of wholesale roof-ing supply companies allowing for wider though not necessarily better options to install. Euroshield on the other hand has adopted a policy of offering the product only through a select number of Ontario installers, which currently numbers 40 but will reach 80 by the end of this year. This policy was instituted to ensure where possible that the quality of installing is maintained to the highest levels and standards of workmanship and therefore customer satisfaction.

Both companies have met with considerable success inside and out-side their respective provinces. How-ever Euroshield has only recently launched into the Ontario market as of August 2009. Both companies are now aggressively marketing into the USA where their successes are expected to be replicated with a resultant generation of more manu-facturing jobs in Canada.

As a result of their marketing efforts both companies are report-ing enquiries from the Caribbean, Europe, India, China and Australia and where the experience gained by the successful installations of rub-ber roofing can be qualified by the extreme temperature variations that Canada offers. Both companies look forward to significant growth both in the Canadian and overseas mar-kets as potential customers adopt a comprehensive valuation process to their roofing requirements. ■

Martin Ingham is a sales and market-ing consultant engaged by the distrib-utor of Euroshield Rubber Roofing products to bring awareness of their product to the members of ACMO. He can be reached at catalysis@sym-patico.ca or cell: 416-434-9035.

The anticipated lifespan could quite easilylast for 75 years or longer according to manufacturers following testing procedures that have been conducted to determine the validity of their warranty period.

that may have lasted for 15–18 years when installed that length of time ago. More recent installations are re-porting considerably less useful life in the region of 8–15 years of useful and aesthetically pleasing lifespan. Cedar and pine wooden shingles which at one time had a life expectancy of 25–40 years have also been experiencing a dramatic fall off in life expectancy again in some instances to 8–10 years.

While rubber roofing manufactur-ers offer a warranty period of 50 years, which is non-prorated, the anticipated lifespan could quite easily last for 75 years or longer according to manu-facturers following testing procedures that have been conducted to deter-mine the validity of their warranty period. Amongst the added benefits, rubber roofing generally provides a much more attractive look and is be-lieved by many professionals to give a significant added value to the prop-erty. Couple this with the fact that customers report that rubber roofs give added insulation and it is easy to see why this alternative represents ex-cellent overall value. There are at the time of writing no approved tests that support this particular claim.

■ Made in Canada

Currently there are two Canadi-an manufacturers of rubber roofing products both of which were founded in the late 1990s. One is based in Alber-ta and the other is in Ontario. Those