Energy Saving Products Ltd., manufacturer of Hi-Velocity Systems, has unveiled its brand new 23,000 square foot facility, on the site of the arson that completely destroyed the building and its contents on January 27th, 2009. The Hi-Velocity System is a small duct heating, air conditioning and indoor air quality system, manufactured since 1983.

CEO Leon Prevost was in Chicago attending the AHR Expo in January 2009 when he got a phone call from his wife (ESP President Elaine Prevost) telling him of the late night fire. Although devastated, Leon’s determination set in, and he began immediately to look forward. “I was not going to let this tragedy get us down” he said.

With great resolution and a lot of hard work from employees, suppliers, customers, friends and family, the company was up and running in a temporary facility within two and a half weeks of the fire.

The design of the new building was completed by Leon and his sons (Tim, in Technical Support and Training, and Daniel, in charge of Electrical Research and Development), working closely with the General Contractor on the reconstruction of the new manufacturing plant. “We came up with our own plans from the start of the design to the finish,” says Daniel. “We wanted practical energy-efficiency, and of course we also wanted to showcase our Hi-Velocity System for everyone visiting the factory.” As a result, ESP has introduced a much improved training area to better instruct customers and showcase their products.

The company has invested 22 months to build a leading edge manufacturing facility, which will be certified under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. This program encourages the adoption of sustainable green building design techniques and construction practices, through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools, materials and performance criteria, pertaining to all aspects of the building. “The whole idea behind LEED is not only energy efficiency, sustainable design or indoor air quality (IAQ), but also an overall improvement of construction practices to reduce waste and/or contamination caused by the construction process,” said Daniel. “The new factory reduces our energy usage by 60 percent.”

High-efficiency chillers, boilers and solar panels were also included in the new plans. For Leon, “it was only natural to go to the next level of sustainability.”

The warehouse and office space are outfitted with multiple air handling systems with numerous zones allowing each occupant to control the temperature in their own space. This promotes productivity, comfort and well-being, as well as demonstrating a fully energy efficient system.

Each air handling unit utilizes a heat recovery ventilator (HRV). These recover thermal energy from the air being exhausted and transfer it to the fresh air being brought into the building. This will save energy by minimizing the heating load in the winter. Each air handling unit also uses the company’s own HE PS air purification system, which utilizes photo-catalytic technology to eliminate VOC’s, CO, and odours from the air. The air handling units are also equipped with CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) monitoring sensors that modulate the amount of fresh air and exhaust air to provide the building with optimal indoor air quality.

Another renewable energy system being incorporated in this building is a solar collector system to supply supplementary heat to the building and hot water tank. These are constructed of a bank of tubes that absorb thermal energy from the sun and exchange this heat to water flowing through the tubes. This is done to reduce the load on the boilers and take advantage of our planets free energy.

What began as a disaster has turned into a new vision. ESP offers it’s customers a solid core of youth tempered with age and experience in their combined commitment to improve and develop the Hi-Velocity System. “We look forward to our Grand Re-opening in May, and greeting existing customers as well as welcoming new customers,” said Leon. “Now, we not only talk the talk on efficiency and sustainability, but also walk the walk and lead by example.”

You can find a video featuring the new building on YouTube by searching ‘Energy Saving Products New Facility’.

This article was provided by Energy Saving Products Ltd. 12615 – 124 St., Edmonton, Alberta Canada, T5L 0N8 PH: 780-453-2093, Fax: 780-453-1932, Toll Free: 1-888-652-2219 Email: info@hi-velocity.com Website: www.hi-velocity.com

By Whitney Wyatt, Communications Manager at Mr. Rooter® Corporation

We all know the saying, “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. But so are plumbers.

When it comes to engagement and wedding rings, Mr. Rooter® plumbers have saved the day for frantic fiancées and worried wives whose rings have gone down the drain.

From a $70,000 wedding ring accidentally flushed down the toilet to a diamond dropped down the garbage disposal – Mr. Rooter has retrieved it all. Some they’ve even kept secret!

“Our plumbers are heroes when they save the day for customers,” says Mary Kennedy Thompson, president of Mr. Rooter Corporation. “We go above and beyond to safely recover sentimental items, because we know how important they are to our customers.”

While some of the recoveries take hours, others in mere minutes. Both have the same outcome – overjoyed and relieved women.

If you end up in a similar position, Mr. Rooter Plumbing recommends calling a plumber ASAP. The key is keeping the water turned off and getting a plumber to your home immediately. They can use a video inspection camera to locate and retrieve items.

Jewelry isn’t the only thing Mr. Rooter plumbers have recovered. They’ve also rescued kittens, puppies, ducklings, a turtle and ferret. In 2010, they even retrieved the keys to a cage that held someone’s pet bobcat.

But if these aren’t enough to smile about, Mr. Rooter Plumbing’s most remarkable recovery is a man’s dentures. The bill for removing the dentures was less expensive than ordering new ones. The dentist gave some excellent cleaning tips, so the dentures can be used again.

Story & photo republished with permission from Mr. Rooter.com

Imagine unsafe water, no plumbing and barely any jobs. While this is earthquake-stricken Haiti, Mr. Rooter Plumbing and 3M Purification Inc. spent May 23-29 in Ferrier, making clean water and the ability for Haitian women to sell it a reality.

“I’ve seen devastation before having served eight years in the Marine Corps, but nothing like this,” said Mary Kennedy Thompson, president of Mr. Rooter Corporation. “Bringing clean water to the Haitian people has to be one of the top goals right now.”

These companies are doing more than just ‘talk the talk’ – they created a micro-fund to help the Haitian women sell purified water to families in their village. To sell the water, though, the women needed to know where to find clean water and how to bag it.

Along with 3M Purification Inc. engineer Satish Chamyvelumani, Thompson tested 10 wells finding 45 percent of the water unsafe. The river water also tested high for bacteria.

“The water was sickening,” Thompson said. “You don’t want to put your hand in it, let alone drink it or use the water for cooking and taking baths, and the Haitians didn’t even know if was unsafe.”

After interviewing more than 100 Haitian women, Thompson found most of them had either headaches or stomachaches, and their children also had whelps on their bodies. She described her findings as a ‘Catch 22’ for the Haitian people: staying hydrated was essential, but obtaining safe drinking water was very difficult.

Using a chlorinator, Thompson and Chamyvelumani treated the unsafe water while Toronto-based Mr. Rooter franchisee Derek Moreland taught the Haitians how to make water filtration devices that cost less than $35 per family. Chamyvelumani left behind capsules and bags 3M Purification Inc. donated, so they can continue to treat and bag water.

“The Haitian people were eager to learn about their water,” Thompson said. “Despite everything they’ve gone through, they were joyful and gracious.”

Mr. Rooter Plumbing and 3M Purification Inc. hope selling the clean water can become a trade for Haitian women. To help enable some of the 87 percent of jobless Haitians, Mr. Rooter Plumbing will return to Haiti later in the year.

On the next trip, they will work more on the micro-funding while several Mr. Rooter plumbers build a water tower for 10 recently built homes in Leogane, Haiti – the epicenter of the earthquake. They will then lay a piping system with multiple spigots throughout the village.

“We want to make their lives easier,” said Moreland, who made the pledge to help Haitians during a leadership meeting with fellow franchisees in January. “Instead of the Haitian people having to fill up buckets and walk back and forth to get clean water, we want to provide a piping system for them.”

Another major item on the plumbing company’s to-do list: collect money for another drill. Despite the team’s 12-hour ride in the back of a pickup, two flat tires and sleeping on metal poles in a mattress-free bunk bed, Thompson says they want to do more.

“It was extreme and harsh for us, but it was luxurious conditions compared to the Haitians,” Thompson said. “I am filled with admiration for the people in Haiti. They showed me no matter what happens we can choose how we respond to bad circumstances with a positive attitude.”

Chamyvelumani agrees. While he was giving back, he got something in return.

“The trip to Haiti provided many lessons that will enable 3M Purification Inc. to develop sustainable solutions to water quality issues faced daily by people in areas such as Haiti in an effort to bring those less fortunate clean water,” Chamyvelumani said.

Watch NBC affiliate news video on the Mr. Rooter project in Haiti.

Watch Mr. Rooter youtube video on Haiti project.

—

About Mr. Rooter®

Established in 1970, Mr. Rooter is an all-franchised, full-service plumbing and drain cleaning company with approximately 300 franchises worldwide. Recognized by Entrepreneur magazine among its Franchise 500 and Franchise Times Top 200, Mr. Rooter franchisees provide services to both residential and commercial customers. Mr. Rooter began franchising in 1974 and is a subsidiary of The Dwyer Group, Inc. For more information or to find the location nearest you, please visit our Web site at www.mrrooter.com or www.mrrooter.ca.

About 3M

A recognized leader in research and development, 3M produces thousands of innovative products for dozens of diverse markets. 3M’s core strength is applying its more than 40 distinct technology platforms – often in combination – to a wide array of customer needs. With $23 billion in sales, 3M employs 75,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com.

by Will Jerome

Republished with permission from the original Granite Transformations blog post: From LA Dodgers Pitcher to Precious Stone Tycoon: The Matt White Story

Matt White as a Los Angeles Dodger in 2005

Back in 2007, a story broke on the national sports news wire. Matt White, a journeyman pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, had pitched seven games in nine Major League seasons and seemed destined to cling to his baseball dreams at no higher than a triple-A level. In 2003, he had purchased a 50-acre plot of land in Cummington, Massachusetts from his aunt for $50,000. White’s aunt desperately needed the money to move to a nursing home, and he happily provided it, but perhaps she might have been served better sticking with the Northern Massachusetts property. While attempting to build a home on the land in 2004 White noticed that the ground was peculiarly hard and immovable. He found rock ledges on the property and decided to learn more about the spacious land he was now in possession of. He hired a surveyor to come inspect his property to gather more info and to hopefully shed some light on his building troubles. He was shocked when he heard the surveyor’s report.

Matt White’s new 50-acre property was sitting on top of an estimated 24 million tons of 400 million year old Goshen Stone – with an estimated value of over $2 billion!

Initially, White said that his one true calling was baseball and that he wouldn’t be hanging up his cleats just for some real estate fortune he had by chance happened upon. The manager of the Dodger’s Grady Little was quoted saying “The kid has a genuine love for the game. He’s quite a competitor, he’s always striving to get better. It’s not about money for him. He’s prepared himself well coming into camp and he’ll be going after somebody’s job. He’ll be given an opportunity.” Little added, “Along the way, if anybody needs landscaping stone, we know where to find it.” Unfortunately that opportunity never came for Matt White. Since the story broke, he has not pitched in another Major League game. Over time, his focus more sternly shifted to being a legitimate stone entrepreneur.

Shortly after the discovery of his quarry, and amidst the swirling chatter of his new found billions, (teammates call him Mr. Billionaire) an article was written by Matt Reis, editor of StoneWorld.com, titled “Stick to Baseball, Matt.” Reis cites a study of Colorado- based stone discoveries noting that 20 out of 20 of the sites surveyed none of them, zero, were commercially viable – speculating that White’s property might be worthless if it’s uneconomical for commercial quarrying. At first glance this article might be filed in the “sour grapes” category, but upon reading further Mr. Reis has a point.

Excavating efforts at White’s Swift River Quarry

The original $2 billion-plus estimate was mightily overblown, as he said that money for machinery, labor, proper plans for excavation, and processing the stone to make it ready for retail sale all eat up a healthy portion of that original figure – which was too high to begin with.

Reis was partially correct in thinking  that the find wasn’t worth nearly $2 billion, but he was wrong in assuming that the property wouldn’t be commercially viable. Around the time of the discovery Matt White began Swift River Stone, a small-scale stone supply company. He brought his father  in to help manage, an occupation he holds to this day. Right away they made $600,000 selling stone of various cuts and varieties, and sales have been steady since. With just him and his father working the machines and overseeing the vast amount of excavating, the business truly stays within the family.

A patio using White’s excavated Goshen Stone

I talked to Matt White and he was candid about his unusual situation.

“It was tough on my family, you know, being around town and people [assuming] we had all this money. It was hard on my parents,” White said.

Initially he hated all of that “Mr. Billionaire” talk and the overblown media stories of buried stone treasure, but today he sees this for the opportunity that it is: a great property to excavate stone and turn a generous profit, all while keeping it comfortably within the family. The property is currently on the market for “the right price,” but there’s no urgent rush to unload the land and the stone just yet – not when the business only continues to grow.

The ESPN headline about White’s lucky find.

White still wakes up every day and trains like the pitcher he hopes to still become. After a year of surgeries and setbacks he hopes to sign an Independent League contract and show Major League scouts that, besides the hype surrounding his quarry, he can still strike professional batters out with the best of them. He most recently took the mound for the Yokohama BayStars in Japan, but was released in August of 2008.  After turning down a spot on the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, a baseball team in Taiwan, this past January, White chose to stay home to continue to oversee the quarry, which he said will provide enough rock to excavate and sell throughout him and his children’s lifetimes. He now embraces his situation and understands the quality investment he’s stumbled upon. He said he’s always trying to meet new people in the industry and tries to expand his business sales flow as much as he can, as well as expanding the variety and quality of the products he offers.

Matt White working on his pitching delivery during spring training with the Dodgers, a club he hopes to one day return to.

From America’s pastime to the American Dream, stone has changed the life of one man, and provided a great example of the eye-popping riches juxtaposed with the buckets-of-sweat inducing labor that comes part-and-parcel with rock excavation. We wish you only the best of luck in the quarry and on the mound, Mr. White.

About the Author

Will Jerome is the mild-mannered moderator of the Granite Transformations blog.

by Guest

When it comes to your dream home, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While some may conjure up images of white picket fences, delicate Spanish arches, and superb crown molding; others envision giant pineapples and flying saucers. The following houses can be defined as many things, but there is something more than the absurdity of their appearance which binds them together. The brave souls who created these bizarre habitats have one thing in common—they chose to build outside the box.

The Fish House

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Located in Berkeley, California the fish house will make even the loyalest of mermaids long for a pair of legs. With round windows, fin shaped walls, and a mouth that opens into a garage, the fish house is the ideal place for the modern day Jonah. The house was built in 1991 by architect Eugene Tsui who prefers to model his homes after nature rather than boxes. Tsui believes that traditionally-built homes are a waste of labor and resources, whereas those that replicate nature reign supreme.

The Narrow House

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With its widest point stretching just six feet across, the “Narrow House” is not for the wide-hipped lass. Located in Madre de Deus, Brazil, owner Helenita Queiroz Grave Minho built this house alongside her husband, so they could rent it out for some extra cash. The house has two living rooms, three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Why so skinny? The only land Minho owned was a narrow alleyway, thus the couple opted to build a narrow house.

The Tire House

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In today’s economy the “Tire House” makes more sense than ever. With one too many cans on his hands and a whole lot of tires, designer Michael Shealy decided to make use of the two items and build an “earth-friendly” house. This carefully constructed heap of rubbish was built in Ridgeway, Colorado and features solar windows, stone floors, and walls made of compacted earth and plaster. While the house is made almost entirely from re-used materials, it’s also energy self-sufficient.

The Spaceship House

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Those who consider themselves “otherworldly” can appreciate the “Spaceship House.” Located off of Highway 127 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the house was built by C.W. King in 1970. King believed it would be “the house of the 21st century” and hoped that it would revolutionize the building industry. Whether or not it achieved either of these is questionable, but with retractable stairs as the only way to enter and exit it certainly made difficult for overnight visitors to slip quietly out the door in the morning.

The Pineapple House

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If you thought that Sponge Bob Square Pants was the first to call a pineapple his home, you’re wrong. In 1761, John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore, asked an unknown architect to build a giant pineapple shaped pavilion as a birthday gift for his wife. If that isn’t love, what is? The pineapple served as a place to view the gardens of Dunmore Park. Those who wish to see this beauty must travel to Scotland where it can still be seen today in a village just north of Airth.

The Mushroom House

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Architect and professor Terry Brown built the “Mushroom House” for himself in Cincinnati, Ohio. With the help of university students the project took him from 1992 to 2006. Brown is known for his use of irregular shapes and tends to model his buildings after shapes found in nature. And all of this begs the question: did the architect dabble in ‘shrooms? The answer remains unknown.

The Winchester Mystery House

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The mystery of a woman who had more money than brains unfolds at the “Winchester Mansion.” After losing her daughter and husband, Sarah Winchester decided to seek advice from a medium. This wise individual told Sarah that there was a curse on her family and the only thing she could do to fight it was to buy a house and never stop building on it until the day she died. In 1884 Sarah bought a house in San Jose, California where she made numerous bizarre additions including: staircases that went nowhere, fireplaces with no flues, and rooms within rooms.

The Airplane House

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Some people just can’t get enough of that cramped, claustrophobic feeling you get when riding in an airplane for 17 hours. If you are one of these people you may want to consider living in one. In 1994 Joann Ussery purchased a salvaged airplane and had it moved to her lakeside lot in Benoit, Mississippi. Ussery did much of the renovation herself and claims she likes living in an airplane because of its durability and cost efficiency.

The Toilet House

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Thanks to Sim Jae-duck, people can now live in toilets. Jae-duck is a founding member of the World Toilet Association and in 2009 he built the world’s first toilet shaped house to mark the launch of his WTA. Located in Suwon, South Korea, the house offers a lovely opening in the roof, several bedrooms, and three deluxe toilets just waiting for you to take a seat.

The Eliphante House

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Artist Michael Kahn built the “Eliphante House” along with his wife Leda Livant. The couple built the house over a span of 28 years using found materials such as, rocks and items left at construction sites. The house was built in Cornville, Arizona and looks like a cross between a cave and a hobbit hole. Stop by and you’ll be greeted by Livant’s giant hippo creation guarding the house.

The Pod House

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The pod house may look like it belongs on another planet, but it’s actually modeled after the flower, Queen Anne’s Lace. The house was built by architect James H. Johnson in Powder Mills Park, New York and features several different pod structures that are linked together by interconnecting walkways, as well as a time tunnel bedazzled in mosaic tiles. Johnson continues to build new additions to the house, each of them being modeled after an element of nature.

The Pickle Barrel House

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There once was a man named William Donahey who created a cartoon called The Teenie Weenies. The Teenie Weenies lived in a pickle barrel beneath a rose bush, but Donahey felt it was time to bring this world to life, and in 1926, he created a life-size version of the pickle barrel for him and his wife to live in. The barrel was first built in Burt Township, Michigan by the architect Harold S. Cunliff, but was later moved to downtown Grand Marais. It is now a museum housing all of Donahey’s work.

The Steel House

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Who needs a man of steel when you can have a house made of steel? Architect Robert Bruno built his house completely out of steel (and glass for windows), which he started in 1973 and only recently finished in 2008. The monstrosity sits in Lubbock, Texas and consists of welded metal, and original and stained glass. As the sole person who worked on the house, Bruno was able to maintain the house’s originality and carry out the building in the organic process he is known for.

The Bubble House

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It seems living your life in a bubble isn’t so bad after all. Architect Antti Lovag designed the bubble house in Tourettes-sur-Loup, France for the fashion designer Pierre Cardin and the country was so impressed that it would later be deemed an historic monument. The house provides views of the sea along with a garden, waterfall, and stream, but most of all the house is known for it’s eccentric use of bubble-shaped windows and bright orange exterior.

The Stone House

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Tucked away in the Fafe Mountains of Portugal sits a house made of stone. The house is wedged between four enormous boulders, and with a cozy fireplace and a pool carved out of stone as, it makes being stuck between a rock and a hard place feel not so bad It was built as a vacation home in 1974, and to this day the architect remains a mystery.

Our sister sites Today’s Parent.com and Canadian Parents.com now have their articles featured on Home Renovation Guide. Great news for those with tots who are looking for help to make their homes even more kid-friendly. Need some serious de-cluttering? Wondering how to make your little princess or budding sports star rooms perfect and on the perfect budget? Find tips to these concerns and much more in our special Parenting Articles Section!

by Robert Wright

Maybe your kids are starting to think about what they would like to do when finish school.  Have you considered a trade?

You may say no way – “it’s a dirty, unsafe, low pay occupation!”  You maybe surprised by the reality of working in the trades and the opportunities available for the kids. While some trades can be a bit dirtier than others, most today are only dusty. With the current labour laws and best practices today, most trades are very safe. The pay scales are very reasonable if only 35 to 40 hrs a week of work are completed. However, when the overtime opportunities are taken advantage of, the pay can be very worthwhile!

You may think that the trades are an unstable occupation, but some of the trades have been around a long time…1000’s of years. The kids will have a skill that will always be needed and wanted.

You will always need someone to build and repair your home, office, and stores; no matter what the next technology breakthrough is. Having a trade can also be a stepping stone into other occupations. Many tradesmen go on to management positions or to self employment. You may also think that there is no room for new people in the trades, but you would be mistaken  Currently, many of the present tradesmen are retiring or planning to. In many trades, the average age of the tradesman is the early 50’s or more. So there will continue to be a large demand for new tradesmen to replace the current ones, let alone to account for future expansions.

Many trades have branches with special skills. For example carpenters: there are framers, who build the basic structure of your home; finish carpenters, who install the doors, trim, and millwork; cabinet makers, who build and install millwork; and formwork, who build the forms so concrete structures can be placed.  Many of the other major trades also have many branches.

So how do you become a tradesman? You start by registering in an apprenticeship program and with an employer. Sometimes the union hall is also a good place to start. You then work on site and after you have enough hours go to school for a few weeks. You then return to work for more hours before you return to school again. Once you have completed the courses and the time, you then become a journey man. This is done while you earn money, so that you will have a skill after approx. 4 years and be debt free.

So while working with your hands may be a small benefit to being a tradesman, the additional reasons are:  very good pay, no debt when schooling is complete, being part of an occupation in demand, and pride in seeing what you have accomplished everyday. These alone should create a compelling desire for your kids to join the ranks of the trades.

About the Author

Rob Wright has grown up around construction and in the mid 1990’s, Rob joined and took over Citadel Renovations in Ottawa. Rob has presented seminars at the local home shows on various renovations subjects and is a contributor to the Home Renovation Guide. Rob has been active in the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association for many years and previously served as the Renovation Council Chair. For more information, visit CitadelRenovations.com.

Looking for a local contractor? Visit the Home Renovation Guide’s Complete Directory or Get a Free Quote.

Triconfilms is currently casting couples for the HGTV show Marriage Under Constrution.

Are you a young couple, married or engaged, and looking to buy your first home together? If so, we want to meet you!

Marriage Under Construction is a hit show that chronicles the real lives of a young, newly married couple as they go through the process of finding, buying, renovating and decorating their first home.

If you are:

-    -Between the ages of 21 and 35
-    -Married, engaged, or are committed partners planning to eventually get married
-    -Are ready to purchase your first home together and are approved for a mortgage
-    -Have a budget of some size set aside for renovations
-    -Live in the Greater Toronto Area

The show will provide you with:
Help in the costs for the renovation.

If this sounds like you, we want to hear from you. You could be the stars of the next season of Marriage Under Construction!

Send pictures if you can!

Please contact:  marriageunderconstruction@triconfilms.com

Leopard Films USA is currently casting a brand new series for HGTV.  The new series titled Home Rules is the network’s premiere hour long show, featuring home renovation with a twist. …

In the channels first hour-long show, a lucky family receives a complete home and life makeover.
We are looking for families with big personalities and unique stories, whose homes are negatively affecting their relationships with their family or whose family is negatively effecting the home!

Our team of experts will then set about making changes to reconstruct a home that suits your families needs, while our life coach will guide your family in the right direction.

To be considered for the show, please email: homerulescasting@gmail.com, telling us why you think your family is in need of a home and  lifestyle makeover.

As the renovations are extensive, we can only consider homeowners with detached properties living within 50 miles of New York City.

The show will focus on families who have a unique living situation that is in some way affecting their homes and applicants must be have some type of conflict within the family they would like to change along with the house.

If you feel that you and your family fits the bill and live within 50 miles of New York City, email homerulescasting@gmail.com with your story and why you would be perfect for the show!

Featured as Home Renovation Guide’s October Renovation of the month, the stunning Conservatory by Pioneer Craftsmen Ltd has been selected as a finalist for the SAM Awards. Held annually by the Calgary Region of the Canadian Home Builder’s Association (CHBA), originally the “Sales and Marketing” Awards, the competition expanded over the years to honour all segments of the Calgary housing industry. Celebrating excellence in renovation design, innovative technology and construction techniques, this year’s entrants exemplify local talent as noted by CHBA President Gary Friend, “The competition is fierce and the quality of the entries received from across Canada is truly outstanding. The finalists indeed are making their mark on the home building industry.” Judges are chosen from strict criteria per specific category and there are over 150 volunteers who fill the position. An independent accounting firm, which audits the judging process insures accuracy.

Pioneer’s finalist entry is a cathedral ceiling conservatory that is a breath-taking work of home architecture. Incorporating natural clear cedar, a unique window arrangement, skylights and a fireplace, the structure certainly has award-winning qualities such as innovative construction and stellar design. Founded in 1953 by Ken Adam, Pioneer Craftsman Ltd was steered to residential renovations by son Gary Adam in the seventies. Third generation and current president, Jamie Adam, is naturally proud. “We are thrilled to have been chosen as a finalist again this year. We believe our team is one of the best in the country, from our designers through to our site staff. Receiving recognition of this caliber means a lot to us.”

To view the stunning renovation, visit the feature story on The Home Renovation Guide.