This is one of a series of reviews of our trades’ work. You can see them all here.

1) Action Spray Foam Review – Vancouver/Surrey

Action Spray Foam Insulation
7591 – 150A Street
Surrey, BC  V3S 6P2
Phone: 778-593-7115
Fax: 778-593-7116
Cell: 778-628-0123
Email: actionsprayfoam@yahoo.com

The company sprays 2-lb soy-based closed-cell foam insulation into walls and ceilings.

The short review: Action Spray Foam does good foam work, but failed to adequately clean up after themselves, nor did they complete the whole insulation job to make it inspection-ready, as promised. Internal problems in the company and a mistake in their quotation affected the crews’ work habits. They did not complete the job on the promised schedule. When I wrote them a follow-up letter, giving them an opportunity to respond, they did not, indicating that they don’t care about good customer relations or feedback.

A more detailed review, if the reader is interested:

I picked up a business card for Action Spray Foam from a home show, possibly the sustainability-focused home show in Vancouver.

When I called the name, Andrew, on the card, he said that he no longer worked there, and gave me owner Joe Pinder’s contact information. Joe referred me to his salesperson, Jeff.

When I called Jeff, he answered his phone with a simple “Hello,” rather than a business-like response such as “Action Spray Foam.” Throughout our continuing communication, he answered his phone this way.

I asked Jeff if Action Spray Foam was willing to work on the Sunshine Coast. He expressed considerable enthusiasm to break into the market here. I asked him for a job quote and told him the square footage of our home, and the size of the crawl space, and emailed him the house plans. He responded quite quickly with an estimate that was quite low, about 1/3 the cost of the only other quote I received for the product.

I asked him if he would prefer to come up to take measurements to help him prepare a more realistic quote. He did eventually come to measure, after missing two appointments.

Jeff then prepared a quote that was twice the cost of his first quote. This quote included a 10% “discount” which Jeff indicated was a marketing/goodwill effort – if they did a job here, perhaps it would lead to other jobs.

In part, Jeff’s email stated, “Note that Action has never failed an inspection, we show up on time and we take pride in our craftsmanship. We believe that your project is an example of a perfect showcase for our product and service. There is no greener and more efficient method of insulating, most prominently due to seasonal wind conditions in your area. We would really appreciate the job. Please let me know for scheduling.”

Jeff gave me contact info for 3 references. I followed up on these references, which were very positive. Some of the comments from these referees suggested that Action Spray Foam showed up when they promised, that they came back quickly when changes or incomplete work needed to be touched up (even taking 45 minutes to heat up the equipment for a job that lasted a few minutes), that they left the work site in very clean condition, and that the product was very effective in preventing heat loss, especially in high wind areas. Jeff also repeatedly mentioned how thorough the clean-up was, and how their jobs always passed inspections. I told him in an email:

“Your references check out beautifully. You’re hired! Please find out whether the ventilation in the roof above the insulation is required (vaulted spaces – we have metal roof.)”

We had several phone conversations about whether roof ventilation was required. Action asserted that none was required, and used a letter from their building envelope engineer to support this assertion. Eventually, I understand that Joe’s business partner, Jeremy, asked a building envelope engineer to make a site visit to confirm that no ventilation would be required. She provided her opinion at the site. This advice resulted in a full day’s labour by our framing crew of 3 people, at a cost of $800 to us, to insert plywood rafter ends at the soffits. Although the engineer was not retained by us, I agreed to pay the $600 billed for this site visit, after talking with Jeff while the crew was applying the foam. We would have to get an engineer’s inspection anyway for the Regional District.

The engineer observed the work that had been done already by the two crews. She said that the work was very good, and took several measurements. She and her associate poked holes into the foam in hundreds of spots (I wondered if those spot holes then allowed air leaks? They were never filled.)

Action’s two crews completed part of our job, then left to work on other jobs in the Vancouver area. They returned 3 days later than Jeremy promised. They “finished” their work here, and left in a hurry to catch a ferry. They took away approximately 9 large bags of foam popcorn and sawcut trimmings, plus 2 of our other styrofoam block-filled garbage bags. Although they cleaned up 2 outdoor vents that got a lot of spray on them, they did not do a thorough job of cleaning. Our metal roof, electrical boxes, pipes, and exterior walls have several areas with foam on them. Nor did they trim off anywhere near all the areas that required cleaning up.

We and our building crew ended up putting in 6 man-days of cutting/cleaning up the spray foam work for the drywallers and to pass the insulation inspection. The engineer would not provide the B1B2s to pass the inspection until we completed all the window and multiple stud and plate moisture barriers and insulation (“rod and caulk”). According to our SCRD inspector, some spray foam crews cover the whole wall/ceiling/windows with moisture barrier BEFORE spraying, then trim between the studs/rafters and seal it with the spray foam. That would have saved us a huge amount of effort and mess, plus protecting the windows from the foam and dust. Although Jeff boasted that Action’s jobs always pass inspections, we had to go over the whole house to fill holes and seal windows that most insulation businesses complete as part of their insulation jobs. Subsequent cutting off of the foam produced 6 more large garbage bags of foam, and required several cleaning sessions by me and by our crew, and even the drywallers.

When the engineer did a second site visit and eventually passed the insulation and provided the B1B2s, we were billed the second site visit. Engineers from the Sunshine

Coast area engineers  provide this service for about 1/2 the cost, because they don’t have to take 4 hours of travel time.

I feel we have not been well-served by Action Spray Foam. We were misled about the level of completion, the engineer’s inspection, and the cleanup.

I should have insisted on a clear and detailed quotation, rather than the simple listing of measurements and price. The best quotations indicate exactly what is provided. If they claim to provide a service that is inspection-ready, then they need to specify exactly what the standard of completion is.

According to the Action crews that were on site, Action’s salesperson seriously underestimated on their quote. Although the crews were unfailingly polite to me, it was clear that they were angry about the situation and in a hurry to get the job done. It was much bigger than they had been told, even though the quote included quite accurate measurements. They got sloppy and just left before the cleanup was completed.

2) Endless Rain Review – Victoria/New Westminster

Gord Szolnyanszky – Director Endless Rain

e: gord@endlessrain.ca

w: www.endlessrain.ca

p: 778 678-7246

Endless Rain is a relatively newly-formed company that installs rainwater collection systems, together with water features if the customer wishes.

Based on a very attractive web site and phone and email conversations with Gord, I engaged Endless Rain to install a 2000 gallon rainwater collection system with a 30’ long water feature. Gord’s partner Allan is the head installer. Allan worked with our excavator over 7 days, ordered materials (rock, sand, and gravel) locally, and ended up installing a longer stream than was quoted for. The final invoice was more than the quote by about 13%, because of very legitimate extra costs to build stone steps and a retaining wall to support the water feature. In fact, Allan showed me where we could trim costs, and was conscientious about providing value.

Allan is a genius designer, honest and a hard worker who pays attention to detail (e.g. the irregular stone steps are level and the height of the risers is consistent.) He posted photos of the progress on a daily basis, so that we could follow it while we were on holiday. Both partners are excellent communicators. Allan came back to the site to explain the system to me when we returned from holiday.

We are very pleased with the results, and have plumbed the house to use the rainwater for flushing toilets. I highly recommend Endless Rain.

Progress on the house has been slow this week. No one feels like working in this heat, so the guys go home early every day and take lots of days off.

The small developments:

Ronnie completed the last high angled shingling today, so the house looks better when you drive by.

Ron completes the angled shingling.

Steve has been torching-on the deck waterproofing in preparation for the concrete pour (studio floor and decks) possibly Tuesday.

Torch-on doorway detail

I have been mostly painting. One little job I’m particularly proud of is this vintage bathtub, another CraigsList find:

This side must have been placed against the wall in its last incarnation

orange and turquoise from the 60s, I'm guessing

I collected a photo of what I’d like it to look like.

This is a photo I found in a magazine

And then I painted it in a pretty good copy of the photo (I haven’t picked the flowers to put inside the bathtub yet.)

You can tell the colour change is intentional, right?

I’m chuffed about that.

Very exciting development. Allan and Gord from Endless Rain have brought the materials for our rainwater harvesting system, and a water feature that uses the rainwater while making it available for gardening and flushing toilets.

In a box next to the lower basin resides a booster pump that draws water from the reservoir to a separate water supply line that runs to the toilets in the home. These lines are all plumbed with bright red pipe so they are easily distinguishable. The water pressure from the booster pump is equivalent to the city pressure in the home so everything should operate properly.

Kyle has been moving those enormous rocks with his bobcat, under Allan’s direction. Before I had to leave for 10 days of holiday (reluctantly, almost) I watched the retaining wall and the stone steps being installed. It’s a thrill to see the final shape of the yard, and to revise our vision of which part of the yard we will be spending most of our time in. This will be a very pleasant space.

Endless Rain is posting photos on its Facebook fan page, so you can follow along, as I’m doing while away.

The location of the water feature. See the roof of the studio, which will be our garden.

I’ve been away for a few days. Returning is always bittersweet. I have missed some important activity. When I return, I almost feel as though I’ve lost some control. And yet, there is joy in seeing progress.

After I walked up to the lot from the ferry, I was met with so many questions (mine and the people’s on site) that I felt overwhelmed. One of the first requirements for me (before I checked the RV for the mouse harvest or unloaded my supplies for the weekend) was to head up to the granite quarry in Sechelt to hand-pick and tag about 30 flat rocks for use as stairs in our water feature/landscape design. That was exciting.

The guys from Endless Rain were here, scoping out the rock situation, the not-so-final grade, and the “product” that had been delivered for our water feature/rainwater collection/toilet-flushing systems.

Kyle was here to move sand for the studio floor and land-forming. The building crew was here trying (unsuccessfully) to finish the back-framing for the drywallers, and the studio floor and water-proofing for the back-filling. They had to move the scaffolding out of the way for the excavator, and have been doing a lot of site-cleaning/equipment-moving for the drywallers and excavator. I find myself getting annoyed at some of the places they moved things to, or where the trades have decided to put/toss perfectly good recyclables. But, I just have to breathe in, breathe out, and methodically rearrange things or let them go. Am I a control-freak?

There’s nothing green about our septic system, except the tank’s colour. To begin with, the tank has to be 1200 gallons, which is quite unnecessary for a 2 bedroom house with water-saving systems.

Then, the design specifies a 310 foot run of pipe in the septic field. Huge. But, I guess it’s green that we can plant a garden on top of the septic field to feed the deer!

4 septic field trenches are dug

Infiltrater covers

Infiltrater hoods cover perforated pipe in the trenches

Digging the hole for the tank

In goes the tank

Andy checks level. The tank gets filled with water.

The non-perforated pipe goes from tank to distribution box

Connect to the house's black water drain

And, cover it up

In order to facilitate a future solar hot water heater, we have built a plumbing chase from the roof down to the crawl space. The plumbers originally put the flexible pvc pipe to service a solar unit, but then realized, just in time, that the water can reach temperatures of 300 degrees, which would melt the plastic and explode within the walls. Copper, insulated, replaced the plastic (took about 6 hours of labour to do it.) Being green is so expensive, unless you’re a frog.

Installing copper pipe for a future solar hot water assist

The progress on the house is not all that apparent this week. It’s not showy. Rather, it’s the systems we’re working on, which will all be concealed behind drywall and other finishes.

red and white water

The plumbing: No, it’s not just Canadian flag-waving here. The water pipes need to show that there are two completely different systems: the red for the collected rainwater to flush toilets, and the white for potable water to the rest of the house.

Neil adds another duct to the montage

The heating and Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV): It’s a complex system, with the attic ductwork needing insulation, and great and small ducting pipes trying to hide in closets, walls, ceilings, floor joists, crawl space. The crew has been working for 3 weeks on this. The irony: it’s supposed to be a back-up heating system (heat pump and air handler). The goal is to have the thermal mass fireplace (TMF) provide the majority of heat in the cold weather.

smoke gets out where it's not wanted

(At this point, the aforementioned TMF is a dirty word in our house. On our first small firing, it smoked mightily, from around the door. I’m quite sure it’s been installed according to all the instructions, but clearly the air inflow or outflow is not functioning the way it should. In theory, the smoke exits at the bottom of the unit, through an 8” masonry chimney pipe from the side of the burning chamber. Kerry, the fellow who sold the kit to us (Lakeshore Design in Ontario) assures us that we don’t need any braid gasket around the door, and that it’s “easy” to straighten out the door. He’s not a very good listener, nor does he know how to provide good customer service. He just repeats the info in the installation guide and talks over us. He says we need to take off the chimney cap that our stonemason took half a day to install. I don’t believe the chimney cap is restricting any airflow at all.)

the "offending"? chimney cap

Electricity: John and helpers have also been here for nearly 3 weeks. The various systems are rather interdependent, needing wiring for the fan or hot water heater, or space around plumbing pipes for the ductwork, for example. John estimates 4000 feet of wire. We’re trying to think ahead to end use and comfort. Lots of lighting for older eyes, plugs on the living room floor for table lamps, pot lights where we might need them. It’s hard to know how the house will be used sometimes, so we just have to make our best guesses. One interesting new item in the BC Electrical Code is a garage plug-in for an electric car!

back-framing

Back-framing: Now that the systems are getting close to done, Ron’s crew can finish the framing around ductwork and plumbing, dropping the ceiling or boxing in smaller spaces. I have also been asking for nooks and crannies and lowered ceilings and bookshelves and grab bars and towel racks, etc. The “tin-whackers,” as Ron calls the heating guys, asked for the workshop wall to be insulated and drywalled so that they could finish the big duct on that wall. I asked for plywood as a finish, so that D can screw all manner of storage solutions anywhere he wants, without having to find studs behind. I’ll also use that approach for the kitchen wall, where cupboards and tiles will hide the plywood.

insulated shop wall

So, I leave the house for 10 days. I will have withdrawal symptoms, I’m sure, but I’m getting a bit of cabin-fever, and I could use the break. Ron and the boys will look after it just fine for us. I’m grateful that I could be on site for so many of these critical decisions.

The Vaproshield building wrap provides the Lake Louise colour!

After a four-day weekend, it seems “everyone” decided to work on our house today:

Natural gas pipe fittings

The heating guys, working on the natural gas outlets

Crawlspace - 5' high

The plumbers (who changed the location of the main drain from the middle of the crawlspace room to the side – makes sense!)

Gutter forming machine

The gutter guys, with their amazing continuous gutter-bending machine. Now I understand why the gutter guys are defined by their “profile,” or the shape of their gutters – it would be too costly to get more than one gutter-bender – we choose the profile we like best. We’re getting a leaf guard to a) make gutter-cleaning much easier for old D, and b) keep the water cleaner for our rainwater collection system.

John installs electrical boxes

The electrician, who met with me for an hour or so going over the locations of various electrical connections/switches/plugs – way too many decisions – my head hurts. Then he (John) started by placing all the boxes before running wire.

Ron, working on the exterior window trim, and D, re-staining fascia so the gutter guys can take advantage of the rare good weather to start, and using up all my dipped shingles.

I did two batches of shingle-dipping, after cleaning up the huge mess in the shingle corner that our gale-forced winds made on the weekend.  BTW, if you’re ever using shingles, don’t leave them out in the weather. Not only are they perfect nests for insects and spiders, but they take forever to dry out so that you can stain them. I squeezed in some filling/sanding of the beautiful fir window returns today, too. And, I admired the fireplace:

Fireplace with pizza oven

It’s six months today since we started building. The builder’s estimate to get the house to lock-up was 14 weeks. We’re not yet at lock-up.

Building progress was disappointing this week. With all the various trades around, it seemed the carpenters were trying to stay out of the way. As a result, they had some difficulty focusing on any one task, like installing all the doors and windows. It’s understandable, really, as all of us were interrupting them to get a little “back-framing” done, or estimate lumber orders, or discuss whether the plumbing can go in this spot or that, or in Ian’s case, welding a hearth support. Building scaffolding alone is time-consuming.

It’s fantastic to have a dry house now that the roof is on. In spite of forecasts of rain, I hope to spend next week with paint and stain: wood window sills inside, cedar belly (or band) board for outside the house, the recycled garage door, and the famous shingle-dipping.

It was fortunate I was able to be on site today, after a two-day absence. It was a whirlwind of activity and decision-making.

Windows and nearly-completed roof

Most of the windows are installed now. Although they look good, I can’t help feeling they aren’t quite big enough. I expect that comes from getting used to the rough openings, which, in the end, are about 3” bigger all around than the glass of the windows.

Thermal mass fireplace kit installed

Russell, the stonemason and his assistant Randy had installed the fireplace kit earlier. Russell said the mortar to cement the pre-formed blocks together was very slippery to work with. The unit could not be placed as close to the side chimney as we were told it could be, so our slab measurements were almost too small.

The fireplace design requires that a piece of ¼” cardboard be placed between the unit and the facing stone, for expansion and contraction during firing. It’s a strange concept to have to have 2” between the masonry and any combustible material, yet here is this cardboard right inside the unit. I guess if it doesn’t get oxygen, it can’t burn. It’s also because of this 2” rule that we used steel posts to support the overhead beams. They will be covered with stone as an integral part of the masonry.

1/4" cardboard around unit

Once the flashing was installed, Russell nailed some ¾” plywood onto the floor around the perimeter of the unit. He will place the rock on it, and the plywood will be removed after the mortar has hardened. That way, the finishing material (fir flooring and slate or tile) can be slipped under the rock, rather than having to scribe the shape of the rock facing onto each strip of flooring or slate, and then fussy-cut the flooring material. Makes so much sense.

The first stone

In addition to Russell and Randy, the builders were here, and a huge plumbing crew blew in after lunch to start the rough-in plumbing. By the time the cabinetmaker arrived to measure for his quote, there was so much noise that I couldn’t make myself heard above the uproar of angle-grinders, drills, saws, and hammers. We would have to stop in the middle of our conversation until the cut had been made.

But then, crew-by-crew the crowd and the noise decreased, until I was blessedly alone, sweeping away the evidence of the recent frenetic activity.

I cherish those peaceful times, when I can tidy up without getting in anyone’s way, and no one requires my attention. I hear the silence of our neighbourhood, or the birdsong, or the pulse of the ferry traffic going by. I see where the sun comes in at this specific season or time of day. I feel the direction of the wind, a nearly constant companion here it seems.

I’m beginning to learn our home.