Last fall, the Canadian Home Builders Association and trades students from Thompson Rivers University did just that. By using Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), the crew erected the walls and roof of a 2,000 sq. ft. home in just 16 hours.

SIPs are prefabricated panels made of expanded polystyrene insulating foam sandwiched between two oriented strand boards (similar to plywood). Hailed as an energy efficient innovation in home construction, they can be used as walls, floors or roofing material. The panels are pre-cut and ready to be assembled, just like a jigsaw puzzle.

“It’s a panelized system and the insulation is already in it. So when you stand the walls up, those walls are finished,” said Duane Svendson from Trout Creek Enterprises, SIPs distributor in Kamloops. At that point, the panels are ready for windows, doors, siding and electrical.

“It’s probably three or four times quicker to build,” said Ryan Lodermeier, president of Kamloops Truss Ltd. Lodermeier plans to distribute SIP panels in Kamloops from the Lower Mainland.

Because of the complex designs of many custom homes in Sun Peaks, it usually makes more sense for builders to use wood framing rather than SIPs. But that may change soon. Amendments are expected to be made to the B.C. Building Code, which will require new homes to be more energy efficient. This will affect the way homes are built to meet the stricter standards.

“And when that happens in the next couple of years, you’re going to see things like SIPs. They’re going to become much more prevalent,” said local builder Darcy Franklin of Meranti Developments. “I think it’s smart for home builders to start looking at SIPs.”

Builders may view SIPs as a viable alternative to improve home insulation. Its high insulation value is due to the airtight construction of the panels. This translates to energy savings especially in the winter.

“It’s going to take about 50 per cent less energy to heat and to cool a home,” said Svendson.

Compared to traditional wood panels, SIPs don’t have studs. That means less heat loss.

“When you take a heat camera (to a traditional wood panel), you can actually see where the studs are because they’ll transfer heat to the outside,” Franklin explained. “With the SIP panels all foam, you don’t have that thermal bridging anymore.”

However, SIPs are still a bit more expensive than traditional building materials, costing 10 per cent more, and often requiring a specialty crew for assembly.

They also may not be as accommodating in design or in last-minute changes—something that builders, electricians and home owners must adapt to when planning a home.

“You’ve got to have your planning down pat,” said Franklin. “Basically before you order SIPs, you should make sure that everything about your house is decided on 100 per cent. They’re pre-cut so you want to have everything laid out ahead of time.”

This also applies to the home’s electrical layout. “Once they work with it and understand it rather than fighting it, I’ve heard that electricians like it,” said Lodermeier. “It’s just the initial shock because it’s so different.”

A Canadian invention, SIPs have been around for about 50 years. As the building industry looks for ways to become sustainable, we may see more houses built using this material in the coming years.

“I think they’re a great product,” said Franklin. “The mainstay in construction in two or three years will be SIPs. We’ll see what
happens.”

For more information, visit www.sips.org.

Tourism Sun Peaks and the Kamloops Art Gallery are looking for four “architecturally impressive homes” in Sun Peaks to feature in the first ever Home Tour to be held in conjunction with the Wine and Culture Festival in July 2011.

The homes will be decorated by a group of interior designers, retailers and florists assigned to each of the homes to display their products and services.

The public may view the inside and outside areas of the home at scheduled times. A tour manager will be on site and attendants will be situated throughout the home tour route during the event. The areas that will be viewed by the public will be decided by the homeowner, Tourism Sun Peaks and the Kamloops Art Gallery.

Interested homeowners must also carry a minimum liability insurance of $2,000,000 and must provide a proof of insurance to Kamloops Art Gallery and Tourism Sun Peaks to be eligible.

For more information, contact Janice Nankivell, events coordinator, at 250-578-5386.

A Dropcam camera can be accessed remotely and set up to broadcast streaming video using your existing wireless service. It’s compact (3.7 x 2.3 x 1.3 inches) and comes in two models: the regular Dropcam which only takes video and Dropcam Echo which also includes audio.

The product was developed by co-founders and software programmers Greg Duffy and Aamir Virani.

Compared to other do-it-yourself wireless cameras, Dropcam is very easy to setup.

“When we first started Dropcam, it was very important to us that the people who’ll use the product didn’t have to understand a bunch of networking technology or IP addresses or any of that complicated stuff that you normally have to understand if you set up a WiFi or a network device, so we made it really easy,” explained Greg Duffy, Dropcam’s CEO. “You plug it into your home router and the camera comes with an application code. When you go into the website and enter that application code, you can immediately see the video.”

What makes Dropcam ideal for remote monitoring is that it doesn’t need a computer to operate after the initial setup. All it needs is either an Ethernet or a WiFi connection to work. The only setback is that it needs to be constantly plugged in to a power outlet, has limited resolution (320 x 240), and doesn’t have the ability to pan, tilt or zoom.

Viewing your camera’s live stream is free on any computer, iPhone or Android phone. If you need video storage, the company also offers recorded video plans. You can choose between seven days of recorded video for $9 or 30 days for $25.

Nobody wants to scour through hours of video to check if somebody tried to break into your home. Dropcam can notify you by e-mail or send a push alert to your phone in real time if it detects motion or sound. Yellow dots on the live video stream’s timeline also make it easy to find clips where the camera detected movement or sound.

“We have a lot of people who use Dropcam in vacation homes. That’s a really popular usage right now,” said Duffy.

“We started getting stories from users who were using it for baby monitoring, pet monitoring, and in some cases, as an entertainment device,” Duffy said, adding that people have used it to see the view from their home or to monitor snow on the mountains.

“We’ve had a customer tell us that it was actually their baby Tivo. You can actually take clips from the recorded video and send it to your friends and family,” he added.

Dropcam currently ships in the US only, but they’re working to enable shipping to other countries. Dropcam (US$199) and Dropcam Echo (US$279) are available at www.dropcam.com or www.amazon.com.

If you’re looking for a user-friendly surveillance camera for your home that’s reasonably priced, then you may want to consider this product.

For more information, visit www.dropcam.com.

The document is a response to numerous inquiries by landlords and tenants on privacy issues and was formed by investigations of privacy-related complaints from tenants.

It’ll include answers to frequently asked questions, such as the type of information a landlord can collect from a prospective tenant on the initial application form. It’ll also include guidelines on privacy-related issues, such as the use of video surveillance in an apartment building, for the duration of the tenancy agreement. Through this document, landlords will learn how to handle, use, disclose and store information collected from the tenants in accordance to the Personal Information and Privacy Act.

Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham hopes the document improves the relationship between both parties.

“We hope these guidelines will assist landlords and property managers in discharging their duties under the Residential Tenancy Act in a manner than respects the privacy of tenants and promotes transparency in landlord and tenant relationships,” said Denham.

Read the guidelines online at www.oipc.bc.ca.

Check your chimney. “Make sure that the chimney is completely clean,” said Allan Dobie, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s senior research consultant. “Ideally, it needs to be done before the first fire gets lit in the stove. There might be a lot of creosote from the last season. The first fire could potentially light a chimney fire and you don’t want that to happen.”

If you haven’t cleaned your chimney in a long time, it’s best to leave it to a professional chimney sweeper.

While you’re up there, don’t forget to clear the gutter and the downspout of any accumulated leaves. This ensures melting snow drains properly when spring comes.

In the main house, the biggest culprits for air leaks are windows and doors. The good news is that these leak sources are also the easiest to fix.

There are several ways to check for leaks. One way is to feel the draft around windows and doors. Another easy way is to use a lit incense stick or candle on a windy day to detect drafts. Cold air seeping through cracks will disturb the smoke or flame. Condensation on the windows is another sign of a leak.

“Caulking around your windows is a good idea,” said local homebuilder Andre Grether. “You can install shrink wrap plastic on the inside of your windows too if you want to go the extra mile. It’s not hard to do and it’s very inexpensive. I think it can save you some money.”

Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Replace old batteries and make sure to replace smoke detectors older than 10 years.

“It’s the heating season and if you’ve got a wood fireplace, all of those heating elements and appliances are in full functioning mode, that’s really the time when a fire can happen,” said Dobie.

Inspect your plumbing. Installing insulation kits to outdoor faucets can help prevent frozen pipes in the winter.

“If they have any hose bibs on the outside of the house that has shut off valves, they should shut those off and make sure to drain those hose bibs,” said John Hecimovic, a local plumber and gasfitter.
He also recommends disconnecting and draining the outdoor hoses to protect pipes from freezing and bursting.

“(Burst pipes) happen quite a bit in Sun Peaks. A lot of people leave their hoses on or they don’t turn off their hose bibs,” said Hecimovic. He recommends turning off the main water valve if you’re going to be away for an extended period of time.

Insulate any exposed pipe and use heat tape for extra protection. Also, don’t forget to have any leaky outdoor faucets repaired before the freezing weather comes.

Last but not least, drain and clean your hot water tank, examine your furnace, and fix any ducts that aren’t fitting properly.

“Boilers with radiant heat should be serviced if they haven’t been serviced in the last two years,” Hecimovic said.

“If the home has a heat recovery ventilator, then the filters and the core need to be cleaned and the filters changed,” suggested Dobie.
Furnace filters must also be changed regularly. “Pleated filters are probably the best ones to use. The very inexpensive fibreglass filters are also quite good.” Dobie recommends preventive measures like regular vacuuming and leaving shoes at the door to minimize indoor dust.

It won’t be long before Sun Peaks is once again blanketed in white. Invest in winter preparation and you’ll have a cozy house to come home to.

The Sun Peaks Fire and Life Safety Bylaw is a comprehensive bylaw that details the mandate and authority given to the Sun Peaks Fire Rescue under the new municipality.

It includes a clause that requires all property owners to provide the number of a contact person who has access to their property in the resort. The contact information is needed so firefighters will know who to call if the building’s alarm goes off.

The bylaw was introduced at the Sept. 7 council meeting and will undergo three readings before it’s passed.

Sun Peaks Fire Chief Bill Stoner said when a fire alarm goes off, it’s their responsibility to make sure there’s no fire in the premises.

“We never want to go to a place, hear an alarm ringing and walk away. We’re going to check it out. What we don’t want to do is break the door down,” he explained.

“What we’d like to know is who we’d call so we don’t break the door down. That’s the idea behind the bylaw.”

Stoner said it’s not a common occurrence, but the team has forcibly entered a house once or twice a year in the past in response to an alarm or after seeing smoke coming out of a house.

Without a bylaw in place, there’s little choice left for firefighters but to force a door open when the smoke alarm does not stop ringing.

“First of all, we’d try to get the door open through any non-forcible means necessary. So if there’s a property management sticker on the window, we’d call the property manager,” said Stoner.

If there’s no one to call, Stoner said they would find ways to enter the house through non-destructive means, such as looking for an open door.
“Worst case scenario, we would have to force the door (open) to ensure that there’s no fire in the house, because we can’t leave the house with an alarm ringing and just assume there’s no fire. That’s really negligence.”

The next council meeting is scheduled on Monday, Oct. 18.

Sotheby’s recently sold a beautiful, 4,000 sq. ft. mansion with a $2.39 million price tag. The last biggest sale for residential homes in Sun Peaks was in 2006, with a home valued at $1.51 million.

“I’m proud to be a part of this benchmark sale and feel that it reflects growing confidence in Sun Peaks Resort as a long-term investment,” said Liz Forster, Sotheby’s managing broker in Sun Peaks. “This is the highest ever sale achieved in Sun Peaks for residential homes.” She said the sale price was adjusted downward to allow a value for furnishings and goods.

“There’s definitely an increase in buyer activity over last year as confidence returns to the marketplace,” she added.

The residential property includes a two-car garage and a legal basement suite. Radiant in-floor heating throughout the house, a wet bar, a media room and granite countertops for the kitchen are just some of the features that made the house attractive to buyers.

A 2,600 sq. ft. townhouse worth $1 million was also recently sold in Sun Peaks, she said.

Tired of rain and grey skies in Vancouver, the Philpots installed oversized windows to flood the living room with light. Another highlight of the room is a large, solid rock fireplace surrounded by minimalist furniture that invites people to gather around. One of Ann’s paintings is prominently displayed on top of the fireplace. Her fabric art and sketches of wild animals are also featured in this room.

This is Michael’s favourite part of the house. “It’s called the Great Room. And the Great Room, if you’re looking at it, is a great room,” said Michael. Indeed, the 30 ft high ceilings, the floor-to-ceiling windows, the massive, dark stained timber beams set against light-coloured wall board and decorative arches speak for themselves.
Other notable features include a bath tub made of pure copper in the master’s bath (very fitting as Michael works in the copper industry), Brazilian slate countertops and beautiful glass tiles in the kitchen. In the basement is a two-bedroom suite and recreation room. On the top floor, is another bedroom and an art studio for Ann. Inspired by the wildlife and nature she sees right outside her windows, it’s a place where she can let her creative juices flow.

The Philpots, who currently reside in the Lower Mainland, have been visiting Sun Peaks for about eight years now. They had previously owned a log house on Fairways Drive which they sold before the Mountain View home was completed. Michael and Ann were charmed with the location, which led them to build their vacation house. “We come up and down pretty regularly,” he said. “We’re going to spend the rest of the time up here.” After discovering how convenient Sun Peaks Resort is, his family has returned year after year. “You couldn’t have a better family-oriented type of a mountain. It’s still got a quaintness to it. It’s not crowded; snow conditions are phenomenal. You know what? I’ll do a four-hour’s drive (to visit Sun Peaks) than going up to Whistler.”