Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/177525
The award-winning 51 Division Police Station adaptive reuse project, Toronto, Ontario. Restoration Products & Services p.18-25Restoration.indd 19 PHILIP CASTLETON C anada's multi-million dollar renovation and restoration sector encompasses a huge array of services – everything from the complete repair of major historical edi ices to the comparatively simple process of exposing and polishing concrete loors in commercial buildings. Accordingly, people engaged in this wide-ranging ield are experiencing varying degrees of activity. Companies such as Clifford Masonry Ltd., which is a leader in masonry, cladding and historical restoration, are in perpetual demand (for example, Clifford has a formidable portfolio of restoring Toronto's most recognizable buildings). Conversely, those who rely on government jobs have experienced a fairly lat 2011 and are left hoping for a better new year. Then there are companies that sell products or speci ic services. They seem to be busier than ever, and BNE Contractors Inc. is a shining example. When told that some restoration specialists are experiencing minimal or no growth, BNE president Chris Henderson replies, "Really? We grew 28 per cent in 2011. It was a terri ic year." Henderson concedes that BNE's success is due to various factors. "Our concrete loor restoration is going gangbusters because polished concrete loors are in high demand," he says. "We have focused our energy on national and corporate accounts, speci ically in the retail and commercial sectors – that's where the money is being spent. Also, we collaborate directly with architects and designers during our normal course of business." BNE recently completed a large concrete loor restoration project at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, a job that entailed removing more than a linear kilometre of carpet, tile and other loor coverings and polishing the original structural concrete underneath. "The original slab has lots of character with different shades of concrete, cracks and patching, all of which blend in with am overall stunning appearance created by the polishing process," says Henderson, adding that BNE crews were on site for approximately three months. BNE is in the unique position of providing a restoration service in which the outcome appears both new and old. "There are very few situations when we're not able to restore an older concrete loor with our polishing process. Sometimes that will involve removing up to one-half inches of the concrete, providing a terrazzo look with bigger stones showing. When concrete loors are too rough, we are now utilizing polymer- Preserving and Protecting Restoration and renovation services gain momentum from the sustainability movement by Robin Brunet modi ied cement toppings or clear epoxies to resurface the concrete and approximate a polished sheen," says Henderson. "Also, we're adept at adding colour to concrete, which is a growing trend: more clients – especially those in the retail sector – are requesting it." Also busy is CuraFlo of British Columbia Ltd. "Our services are booked months in advance, and our crew of 50 people is constantly on the move," says sales and marketing manager Randy Christie. While that's good news for CuraFlo, it illustrates a growing problem for building owners. CuraFlo is a leading provider of pipe restoration services for multi-tenant and commercial and institutional structures. "We do a lot of copper pipe repair and restoration by cleaning the pipes to remove built-up corrosion and then applying a corrosion-resistant epoxy through the use of high-pressure air low," says Christie. Although copper plumbing was originally designed to last 50 years or even longer, in 1979 manufacturing changes to alloys were implemented to remove lead and other impurities, and these changes have resulted in copper pipes failing far more quickly than in the past, especially in multi-tenant buildings with a central source of domestic hot water. Christie has noticed an increase in copper pipe failures and inquiries about the possibility that they might be failing due to microbe-induced corrosion. "There seem to be more cases than before in which I'm called in to repair pipes that have failed after only seven years," he says. "I'm currently researching microbe-induced corrosion and hope for the client's sake that it isn't a major factor in these failures, because although few install copper plumbing systems anymore, the inventory of copper pipes throughout Western Canada is enormous and tackling the problem of microbes would be enormous." In more upbeat news, CuraFlo of British Columbia was recently nominated for the Supplier/Contractor of the Year award sponsored by the Building Owners & Managers Association of British Columbia (BOMA BC). It was nominated by representatives of Cadillac Fairview Corp., which owns the Paci ic Centre of ice towers in Vancouver. In 2010, CuraFlo successfully restored the water infrastructure system of two of the Paci ic Centre of ice towers with its proprietary epoxy lining system. Cadillac Fairview initially considered a complete re-piping of these systems, but the process of replacing existing pipes was a costly and invasive option that could have severely disrupted tenant businesses for months. As CuraFlo proved, its epoxy lining was installed with little or no downtime, and with minimal disruption to residents. Guido Rapone, general manager for Durabond Products Ltd., describes his workload as steady, attributing it to the cost-effectiveness and ef iciency of his company's various offerings, in particular the range of products under the Durex EISF brand. EIFS is the most thermally ef icient and lexible cladding available. Its continuous thermal insulation properties eliminate thermal bridging, and there is less structural movement due to less thermal luctuations. Air tightness and vapour control are easily incorporated to EIFS-clad walls, and the cladding accommodates adaptable moisture control strategies. Expanded polystyrene is the most common EIFS product, while extruded polystyrene delivers higher compressive strength and thermal resistance. EIFS cladding panels are lightweight and facilitate speed of installation without undue disruption of the job site. "Compared to other cladding and re-cladding systems, Durex EIFS is clearly superior, and it's a key product for us," says Rapone. The people at Acrytec Panel Industries are equally passionate about the performance of their exterior rainscreen cladding systems, which are suitable for everything from residential remodelling to highrise construction. Acrytec panels come in vibrant tones and are even available in natural stone FEBRUARY 2012 /19 1/23/12 10:11:15 AM